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Laelia endsfeldzii
Laelia endsfeldzii is one of the yellow-flowered rupiculous Laelia species
with long inflorescences, which is the norm for the yellows growing around Belo Horizonte and to the south/southwest.
The species is closely related to Laelia
crispata (syn. L flava), and in fact the flowers look like miniatures of it at about half the size (albeit usually
with narrower segments). The inflorescences of Laelia
endsfeldzii can be quite long, to
more than 2' tall, and flowers are usually distributed more loosely than in L. crispata.
Flower color is essentially the same, a light to bright golden-yellow. Laelia endsfeldzii,
on the contrary to L. crispata, has as extremely limited distribution, and can be found
in an area just a few square miles wide about a hundred miles south of Belo Horizonte. The plants have a curious
distribution pattern on these not very steep rock slopes, being found on one hill that seems to never get direct
sunlight, at least at blooming season, something very unusual for rupiculous laelias. This probably explains why
plants in the wild have such long inflorescences and fewer than expected well-separated flowers. In cultivation
under the expected high light intensity, healthy plants usually produce much more compact inflorescences with much
higher flower count (up to more than 10 on an inflorescence, something I don't remember ever seeing in the habitat.
Blooming season goes from April to June.
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Distribution Map for Laelia endsfeldzii.
The distribution range is actually much more limited that the map shows, but just a couple of pixels would be difficult
to visualize.
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On 1, we see the
typical way plants of Laelia endsfeldzii are found growing on the natural habitat. Although this slope
is not subject to much (if any) direct sunlight for at least part of the year, the plants still are found growing
with roots inside crevices or cracks. This ensures proper moisture to the root system. Plants are also most of
the time found protected by small Vellozia or grasses and they are usually only easy to find when in
flower (of course, assuming one knows exactly where the plants grow).
On 2, we see a close-up of a typical flower of Laelia endsfeldzii.
Looking at a picture like this, one could easily guess this was a flower of Laelia crispata,
although with more attention the narrower segments would be noticed. |
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