Stanhopea annulata

Mansfield 1938

Native to Colombia and Ecuador

Edited 9 May 2007


Stanhopea annulata by P. Glucksmann

Originally published in: Orchis, 16: 19 (1938); cf. Gray Herb. Card Cat.

This is one of the hornless, so-called " primitive stanhopeas".
It is similar to Stanhopea avicula. Other hornless stanhopeas include: Stanhopea cirrhata; Stanhopea pulla; and Stanhopea ecornuta. Other species that are nearly hornless include: Stanhopea tricornis; Stanhopea candida; and Stanhopea reichenbachiana.

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Stanhopea annulata by P. Glucksmann Photos at left courtesy of Pedro Glucksmann, Caracas.

This species likes moist conditions; grows well in a plastic pot with a fine-med bark mix with charcoal, perlite, and redwood fiber. Barney Greer (1998) wrote that it's found "very often on branches over water, on the western slopes of the Andes in Ecuador and Colombia...100 to 600 metres."

In Orquídeas de la costa del Ecuador, the authors write that Stanhopea annulata is found in the provinces of Esmeraldas, Los Rios, Pichincha, and Cotopaxi.

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This species was blooming in Houston, 26-27 August 2001, bearing two non-resupinate flowers on one inflorescense. Overall creamy gold color; lip shiny, stubby, and almost diamond-shaped, with distinctive fleshy ring around the hypochile. Lateral sepals dominant, with satiny texture. Column translucent white with green cast. Petals distinctively folded at 90-degree angle, similar to a nun's habit (remember "The Flying Nun"?). Deep inside lip, , at base, four small blood-red dots arranged as chevrons. Measurements: Horizontal naural spread 7.5cm; vertical nat. spread 4.6cm; dorsal sepal 1.8cm wide, 3.5cm long; petals 1.1cm wide, 1.8cm long; lateral sepals 2.1cm wide, 3.8 long; lip 1.2cm wide, 2.4cm long; column 0.7cm wide, ~1.9cm long.


References:

Arcadio Arosemena G., Roberto Estrada G., Cecilia de Jurado, and Max Konanz M. (1988) Orquídeas de la costa del Ecuador, Guayaquil: Asociacion Ecuatoriana de Orquideologia, 129p [p.156 with photo].

Kenneth J. Curry, Lorraine M. McDowell, Walter S. Judd, & William Louis Stern (May 1991) "Osmophores, Floral Features, and Systematics of Stanhopea (Orchidaceae)," in: American Journal of Botany 78(5): 610-623. "The floral fragrance glands (osmophores) of 18 species of Stanhopea and Sievekingia were examined through a series of developmental studies at light and electron microscope levels including late bud stages through postanthesis." [Sievekingia; Stanhopea anfracta, annulata, candida, ecornuta, gibbosa, martiana, oculata, pulla, radiosa, ruckeri, saccata, shuttleworthii, tigrina, vasquezii, and wardii] Link to abstract: A HREF= "http://www.botany.org/ajb/00029122_di001922.php"> http://www.botany.org/ajb/00029122_di001922.php

Calaway H. Dodson (1975) "Orchids of Ecuador: Stanhopea," in: Selbyana, 1(2): 114--129.

Calaway H. Dodson (1988) "A list of the orchid species reported for Ecuador," in: Orquídeas de la costa del Ecuador, 115--129.

Barney Greer (1998) The Astonishing Stanhopeas, Collaroy Beach, NSW Australia, p.12 (with photo).

Rodrigo Escobar (Ed.) (1992) Native Colombian Orchids, Volume 4, Medellin: Compania Litografica Nacional S.A.; p.546 (no photo, but a photo is provided of Stan. avicula on p.551).

Rudolf Jenny (Dec. 2003) "The Genus Stanhopea. Part 1: S. anfracta to S. napoensis," in: Caesiana no. 21, Supplement. 200 color photos, 160 p., Italian/English, covers 32 species.


Comments? Questions? Send e-mail: stanhopea@autrevie.com.

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