Sobralia leucoxantha
Rchb.f. 1866
Native to Costa Rica, Panama, Peru
Edited 12 February 2008
© Nina Rach
Sobralia leucoxantha Rchb.f. 1866
Original publication: Beitr. Orch. Centr. Am. 68. 1866.
Type species: Costa Rica
The source of this specific name is from the Greek
leucos which means bright, brilliant, clear, white, or pale and xanthos which means yellow or red-yellow;
hence, whitish yellow.
Compare with
Sobralia xantholeuca.
Solitary white flowers are borne on terminal racemes atop stems which reach approximately 3-ft (1 m). Flowers are 4 to 5 inches across. Blooms in summer.
Photo at left by Sr. Andres Maduro, Panama. This plant was originally identified as
Sob. macra, but Sob. macra has no median ridge on the lip, while Sob. leucoxantha has a distinct ridge. Sr. Maduro notes:
"Rare in cultivation. Tall-growing species with showy short-lived large white flowers, produced successively. Grow intermediate, with moderately bright-bright light, evenly moist."
From "The Cutting Edge," Volume VIII, Number 4, October 2001:
"A well-known ornamental Sobralia (Orchidaceae) with golden-lipped flowers, ranging along the Atlantic slope from Nicaragua to central Panama, has long been called either S. leucoxantha Rchb. f. or
S. powellii Schltr. The latter name has been established as applying to a rather different sp. of central Panama. Now, examination of the type of S. leucoxantha (one of the two entities alluded to in the title) reveals that this name has also been misapplied; correctly, Sobralia leucoxantha is the oldest name for a more humble sp., of Costa Rica and Panama, heretofore known as
S. macra Schltr. The flashier, golden-lipped sp., momentarily nameless, is here formally christened as
Sobralia chrysostoma Dressler (the second entity of the title).
No specimens are cited other than the type."
Synonym:
Sobralia powellii Schlecter 1922
Plants were observed flowering in Costa Rica at 600-850m elevation in March and July. A specimen was collected from the Fortuna watershed, Chiriqui Province, Panama, by Thompson (5046).
See the webpage on
White Sobralias.
