Cyrtochilum detortum (Rchb.f.) Kraenzl. 1917 SECTION Eucyrtochilum Kranzlin

Photo by © Stig Dalström

Floral details

Photo by Guido Deburghgraeve ©

Part Shade Cool LATEFall EARLYWinter

Common Name The Twisted Cyrtochilum

Flower Size 2" [5 cm]

Found in Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru in dense waist-high vegetation in fairly thin soil atop boulders at elevations around 1800 to 1900 meters as a large sized, cool growing terrestrial or lithophyte with ovoid, somewhat compressed, rugose pseudobulbs enveloped basally by several pairs of distichous, imbricating, leaf-bearing sheaths and carrying 2 to 3, lanceolate, acute, keeled, shortly conduplicate below into the subpetiolate base leaves that blooms in the late fall and early winter on an axillary, to 197" [500 cm] long overall, peduncle rather erect then pendant, to 4' 4" [130 cm] long, paniculate, rachis to 12' 4" [370 cm] long, loosely branched, each main branch 8 to 12 flowered, side branches to 4 flowered, many [to 150] flowered inflorescence arising on a mature pseudobulb.

Often cited as synomonous with C pozoi, but new examinations of the type and species in the field confirm that C pozoi is a separate species.

The C falcipetalum group consists of C detortum, pozoi, C lamelligerum, and C verstraeteanum.

SynonymsCyrtochilum sanderianum (Rolfe) Königer 2009; *Oncidium detortum Rchb.f. 1888; Oncidium sanderianum Rolfe 1893

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Das Pflanzenreich Odontoglossum/Oncidium Kranzlin 1922; Venezuelan Orchids Illustrated Vol 3 Dunsterville & Garay 1965 as Oncidium detortum drawing hmm = C undulatum?; Orchids of Venezuela An Illustrated Field Guide Vol 2 H-O, Dunsterville & Garay 1979 as Oncidium detortum drawing hmm = C undulatum; Rudolf Schlechter Die Orchideen Band 1C lieferung 33 - 36 2057 - 2308 Brieger 1997; Orchids of Venezuela [An illustrated field guide] Vol. 2 Ramiro and Carnevali 2000 as Oncidium detortum drawing hmm = C undulatum; Lindleyana Vol 16 No 2 2001; The Pictoral Encyclopedia of Oncidium Zelenko 2002 pg 102 drawing ok; The Pictoral Encyclopedia of Oncidium Zelenko 2002 pg 104drawing fide; Icones Orchidaceaerum Peruviarum Plate 626 Bennet & Christenson 2001 as C trilingue drawing fide; Orquideas Nativas del Tachira Cesar Fernandez 2003 photo = c ventilabrum fide; ; Native Ecuadorian Orchids Vol 4 Dodson 2003 as Oncidium detortum not = C pozoi; Orchid Species Culture: Oncidium/Odontoglossum alliance Bakers 2006; Orquideologia Vol 25 #2 2008; Orchid Species of Peru Zelenko Bermudez 2009 photo not = C lamelligerum; Flora of Ecuador No 87 225[3] Orchidaceae Dodson & Luer 2010 drawing fide; Orchids, A Colombian Treasure Vol 1 Ortiz & Uribe 2014 drawing not?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------