Catasetum planiceps Lindl. 1843 SUBGENUS Catasetum SECTION Isoceras SUBSECTION Isoceras C planiceps alliance
Photo by Eric Hunt ©
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Common Name The Smooth Head Catasetum [Refers to the saccate lip]
Flower Size 2" [5 cm]
Found in Venezuela, the Guyanas, Surinam, Peru and northern Brazil in lowland forests and on the lower slopes of coastal mountain ranges at elevations of 100 to 700 meters as a large sized, hot to warm growing lithophyte on rocks or terrestrial on the ground yet does well in cultivation with conventional mixes, with fusiform, some slightly curved pseudobulbs enveloped basally by whitish, papery sheaths and carrying 7 to 8, elliptic-lanceolate, medium green, plicate with 3 prominent veins, obtuse leaves that blooms in the spring and summer on an erect, 10" to 30" [25.5 to 75 cm] long few flowered inflorescence arising on a newly arising pseudobulb with a pedicel that is bent downward at the rachis.
The resupinate flowers have a pleasing scent of licorice.
Synonyms Catasetum chloranthum Cogn. 1894; Catasetum hymenophorum Cogn. 1895
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Flora Brasilica Vol XII VI Hoehne 1942 drawing fide; Venezuelan Orchids Illustrated Vol 1 Dunsterville & Garay 1959 drawing fide; Orchids of Peru Vol 3 Schweinfurth 1960; AOS Bulletin Vol 36 # 9 1967; Flora de Venezuela Volumen XV Part 4 Foldats 1970 drawing fide; Orchidaceae Brasilensis Band 1 Pabst & Dungs 1975 drawing good; The Orchids of Venezuela, An Illustrated Field Guide Vol 1 Dunsterville and Garay 1979 drawing fide; The Orchids of Surinam Werkhoven 1986 photo fide; Orchids Travel By Air A Pictoral Safari Mulder, Mulder-Roelfsema and Schuiteman 1990 photo fide; Rudolf Schlechter Die Orchideen Band 1B lieferung 26 1584 - 1648 Brieger 1992; The World Of Catasetum Holtz 1999 drawing/photo fide; Orchids of Venezuela [An illustrated field guide] Vol. 1 Ramiro and Carnevali 2000 drawing fide; Botanica's Orchids Laurel Glen 2002 Orquedias Nativas Del Tachira Fernandez 2003 photo fide; Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana Vol 7 Steyermark, Berry, Yatskievych and Holst 2003 drawing; Orquideas de Roirama Luz & Franco 2012 photo fide; Orchids, A Colombian Treasure Vol 1 Ortiz & Uribe 2014 drawing/photo fide
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