!Trichopilia tortilis Lindley 1836
Photos by © Eric Hunt
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Common Name The Twisted Trichopilia
Flower Size to 6" when flattened [10 cm]
Found in Mexico, Guatemala, Beliza, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama in damp tropical forests at elevations up to 1500 meters as a medium sized, hot to warm growing epiphytic species with oblong to cylindric, laterally compressed pseudobulbs concealed by one or more brown spotted basal bracts carrying a single, subcoriaceous, elliptic-lanceolate, abaxially carinate leaf with a conduplicate petiole at the base that flowers on a basal, pendulous, 2 to 4" [5 to 10 cm] long, slender, 1 to 3 flowered inflorescence, arising on a newly matured pseudobulb, that has tubular, scarious bracts and large, showy, fragrant, waxy flowers.
Very similar to T freulerae but this one has sub acuminate apices to the sepals, a three lobed lip, dotted red spots on the throat of the lip and sepals that twist in a different manner.
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Lankester's Epidendra Website CR ; *Edwards's Bot. Reg. 22: t. 1863. 1836; Bonplandia Rchb.f 1856; Xenia Orchidaceae vol 2 Rchb.f 1865; Die Orchideen Schlechter 1915; Atlas des Orchidees Cultivees Constantin 1920 drawing fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 27 No 9 1958 as T tortiles drawing ok; Encyclopedia of Cultivated Orchids Hawkes 1965 photo fide; Las Orquideas De El Salvador Vol 2 Hamer 1974 drawing/photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 49 No 7 1980 drawing fide; Las Orquideas de El Salvador Vol 3 Hamer 1981 drawing ok; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum Plate 1298 Dodson 1985 drawing fide; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum Plate 1499 Mora & Atwood 1992 drawing ok; The Manual Of Cultivated Orchid Species Bechtel, Cribb & Launert 1992 photo fide; Rudolf Schlechter Die Orchideen Band 1C lieferung 32 1977 - 2056 Brieger 1996 photo fide; Fieldiana Biology, Flora Costa Ricensis Family # 39 Orchidaceae, subtribes Maxillariinae and Oncidiinae Atwood & Mora 1999 drawing fide; Australian Orchid Review Vol 68 No 1 2003 photo; Manual de Plantas de Costa Rica Vol 3 Hammel, Grayum, Herrera and Zamora 2003; Orquideologia Vol. 23 No 1 2004 photo fide; Algunas Orquideas de Oaxaca Suarez 2004 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 74 No 2 2005 photo fide; Orchid Species Culture: Oncidium, Bakers 2006; AOS Bulletin Vol 76 No 5 2007 photo fide; AOS Bulletin vol 78 No 11 2009 photo fide; Guia de Orquideas de Chiapas Carlos Rommel Beutelspacher Baigts 2013 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 85 #5 2016 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 85 #11 2016 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 87 #1 2018 drawing fide; Orchid Genera and Species in Guatemala Archila, Szlachchetko, Chiron, Lipinska, Mystkowska and Bertolini 2018; Orchid Digest Vol 83 #3 2019 photo fide;
Trichopilia tortilis Lindley 1836 var alba
Photo courtesy of © Lourens Grobler
An Albino version of the previous species.
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