Elleanthus capitatus (Poepp. & Endl.) Rchb.f. 1862 SECTION Cephaleleyna
Photo by © Mickael Karlbom and his Flickr Orchid PhotoWebsite
Photo by © Eric Hunt
Photo by Weyman Bussey
THROUGH 
Common Name The Capitate Elleanthus
Flower Size 2/5" [1 cm]
Found in Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela, French Guiana, Guyana, Surinam, Brazil, in cloud and elfin forests at elevations of 40 to 3800 meters as a large sized, clumping, hot to cold growing epiphyte or litho-terrestrial with thick roots and stout stems enveloped basally by tubular sheaths that become basally clasping, long acuminate, distichous, alternate, plicate leaves that become bractlike apically on the stem and blooms in the spring through fall on a terminal, short, enveloped by membranceous sheaths, many flowered, capitate or subcapitate, racemose inflorescence with an apical head of flowers that are covered in a glutinous material.
Growing alongside Sobralia macrantha near La Esperanza Mexico. The flower head is over 4" across.
Often confused with E cephalotus but this one only occurs in central and south America and C cephalotus only occurs within the west Indies.
Synonyms Elleanthus casapensis (Rchb.f.) Rchb.f. 1862; Elleanthus cephalophorus (Rchb.f.) Rchb.f. 1862; Elleanthus cynarocephalus (Rchb. f.) Rchb. f. 1862; Elleanthus zamorensis Garay 1978; Epidendrum capitatum [Poepp. & Endl.] Sessé & Moc. 1894; *Evelyna capitata Poepp. & Endl. 1836; Evelyna casapensis Rchb.f. 1852; Evelyna cephalophora Rchb.f. 1852; Evelyna cynarocephala Rchb. f. 1856; Evelyna zamorensis (Garay) Dudek & Szlach. 2010
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Bonplandia Rchb.f 1856 as Evelyna cynarocephala; Bonplandia Rchb.f 1856 as Evelyna capitata; Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 9: 45 Peru Schlechter 1921; Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 9: 45 Peru Schlechter 1921 as E casapensis; Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 9: 45 Peru Schlechter 1921 as E cephalophorus; Repert. Sp. Nov. Regni. Veg. Beih. 19: 79. Costa Rica Schlechter 1923; Repert. Sp. Nov. Regni. Veg. Beih. 19: 163. Costa Rica Schlechter 1923; Flora Brasilica Vol XII II 13-43 Hoehne 1945 drawing ok; Flora Brasilica Vol XII II 13-43 Hoehne 1945 as E cephalophorus; Flora Brasilica Vol XII II 13-43 Hoehne 1945 as E cynarocephalus; The Orchids of Panama L.O. Williams & P Allen 1946; AOS Bulletin Vol 27 No 6 1958; Orchids of Peru Vol 1 Schweinfurth 1958 drrawing fide; Orchids of Peru Vol 1 Schweinfurth 1958 as E casapensis; Orchids of Peru Vol 1 Schweinfurth 1958 as E cephalophorus Native Orchids of Trinidad and Tobago Schultes 1960 not = E cephalotes; Encyclopedia of Cultivated Orchids Hawkes 1965; AOS Bulletin Vol 35 No 1 1966 photo fide; Venezuelan Orchids Vol 4 Dunsterville & Garay 1966; Flora de Venezuela Foldats Volumen XV Part 1 1969 drawing ok; Las Orquedias De El Salvador Vol 1 Hamer 1974 as E cephalotus; drawing/photo fide; Flora of Ecuador No 9 225[1] Garay 1978 drawing good; Flora of Ecuador No 9 225[1] Garay 1978 as E casapensis drawing good; Flora of Ecuador No 9 225[1] Garay 1978 as E zamorensis drawing good; AOS Bulletin Vol 48 No 5 1979; AOS Bulletin Vol 48 No 7 1979; Orquídea (Mexico City), n.s., 7[3]: 1979; Icones Plantarum Tropicarum Plate 63 Dodson 1980 as Ell aff zamorensis drawing ok; Orchids of El Salvador Vol 3 Hamer 1981 as E cynarocephalus; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum Plate 672 Dodson 1982 as E cynarocephalus drawing ok;Die Orchideen lieferung #13 753 - 816 Bulbophyllinae Brieger 1983 photo good/drawing ok; Orchids of Guatemala and Belize Ames and Corell 1985 drawing ok; ORQUIDEA (Méx. ) 10 (1) ABRIL 1986 drawing/photo fide; The Orchids of Surinam Werkhoven 1986 as E cephalotus photo fide; Selbyana Vol 10 Orchids of Central America Hamer 1988 as E cynarocephalus drawing ok; The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Orchids Pridgeon 1992; The Manual Of Cultivateed Orchids Bechtel, Cribb and Laurent 1992 drawing ok; Field Guide to the Orchids of Costa Rica and Panama Dressler 1993 as E cynarocephalus; Manual of Orchids Stewart 1995; Guatemala Y Sus Orquideas Behar & Tinschert 1998 as E cephalotus photo fide; Native Ecuadorian Orchids Vol 2 Dodson 2001 drawing/photo fide; Orchids of Bolivia Vol 2 Laelinae Vasquez and Ibisch 2004; Algunas Orquideas de Oaxaca Suarez 2004 photo fide; Genera Orchidacearum Epidendroidseae Paet 1 Pridgeon, Cribb, Chase and Rasmussen 2005 photo good; Orchid Species of Peru Zelenko Bermudez 2009 as Ell sp pg 120 photo ok; Orchid Species of Peru Zelenko Bermudez 2009 as Ell sp pg 122 photo ok; Orchids of Costa Rica Vol 2 Morales 2009 as E cynarocephala photo fide; Flora of Ecuador No 87 225[3] Orchidaceae Dodson & Luer 2010 drawing/photo ok; Orchid Digest Vol 75 #1 2011 photo fide; An Illustrated Field Guide to the Orchids of the Yotoco Forest Reserve Colombia Kolanowska, Escobar, Sanchez & Szlachetko 2011 as Evelyna capitata drawing ok; Orchids of the Department of Valle de Cauca Colombia Vol 1 Kolanowska & Szlachetko 2012 as Evelyna capitata drawing/photo fide; Guia de Orquideas de Chiapas Carlos Rommel Beutelspacher Baigts 2013 photo fide; Algunas Orquideas de Mexico Tomo 1 Suarez 2013 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 85 #1 2016 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 85 #10 2016 photo fide; Orchid Digest Vol 81 #1 2017 photo fide; Orchid Digest Vol 82 #2 2018 Photo fide to another photo Eric Hunt; Orquideas de Farallones de Cali Galindo-Tarazona, Haelterman, Zuluaga Trochez and Sebastian Moreno 2020 photo fide
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