Epidendrum fimbriatum Kunth 1816, a tiny gem from high altitude wet forests

I saw this plant in the orchid house of the Botanical Garden of Quito, Ecuador.    This plant except that it is found in Peru.¹  It is also found in Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia and Bolivia.   The flowers were at the tip of a long inflorescence that seemed to have been blooming for a long time.  It was being cultivated on a raised bed of gravel.

¹Zelenko, H., Bermudez, P. 2009.  Orchid species of Peru

Encyclia brassavolae (Reichenbach f.) Lindley ex Stein 1892

I saw this plant in the orchid house of the Botanical Garden of Quito, Ecuador.   Although this orchid was not identified with a tag, the flowers are unmistakable.   It was growing on a raised bed in the middle of the green house.  It had a single flower.    The plant was in excellent condition.   It is clear it thrives in a diurnal range of 45F during the night and 77F during the day.

This plant is found in Central America and Mexico at altitudes between 1200 and 2500 meters in wet pine oak evergreen forest, it is reported to sometimes grow on rocks.¹  This plant was placed by Withner in the genus Panarica.  In the Cattleyas and their relatives: The debatable Epidendrums, it is named Panarica brassavolae (Reichenbach f.) Withner & Harding. 

 

¹Withner, C. L., Harding, P. A. 2004. Cattleyas and their relatives:  The debatable Epidendrums