Finding

SITF has determined this plant to be Habenaria rhodocheila subsp. rhodocheila, not Habenaria roebelenii (Nov 2024). Kew POWO considers H. roebelenii to be synonymous with H. rhodocheila subsp. rhodocheila. This plant matches the photos of the red H. rhodocheila and Bakers' description in the OW.

Finding

SITF confirms this plant as Acianthera panduripetala (Nov 2024). The flower form is a good match to A. panduripetala in the IOSPE; the Genus is accepted by Kew as Acianthera. The petals also match the drawing of the species in the IOSPE. The plant matches several photos in the orchidroots.com.

Finding

SITF confirms this plant as Scaphosepalum swertiifolium (Oct 2024). S. swertiifolium and S. ursinum are the only species in the section with large sepaline pads and long caudae; however the rest of this flower doesn't fit the S. ursinum form. Illustrations and photos of S. swertiifolium and S. ursinum can be found in the IOSPE. These photos support S. swertiifolium over S. ursinum.

Finding

SITF confirms this plant as Stelis hallii (Oct 2024). The fractiflex (Zigzagged) inflorescence in the last photo matches S. hallii. Matches three photos in the orchidroots.com and an excellent photo and two illustrations in the IOSPE.

Finding

SITF confirms this plant as Trichocentrum candidum (Nov 2024). This is an excellent match to the drawings and description in Volume II of F. Hamer's 1974, "The Orchids of El Salvador". The emarginate lip may be a distinctive characteristic. There are narratives, keys, and drawings that match this plant in, "A Revision of the Genus Trichocentrum" by Franco Pupulin published by Academia.edu on-line. Both POWO and IOSPE have photos of T. candidum. The protruding wings on this plant and the first flower of IOSPE's T. candidum, as well as, three photos in POWO appear correct.

Finding

SITF has determined this plant to be Aeranthes grandiflora, not Aeranthes virginalis (Oct 2024). Johan Hermans, a noted botanist in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, an expert in this genus, has identified this plant as A. grandiflora. He said that A. virginalis cannot be mistaken for any other species because of the crossed sepals (crossing in front of the lip making it unmistakable) and more, importantly, the formation of plantlets that occur along the inflorescence; the only species in the genus that forms such plantlets. This plantlet formation starts very early in the development of the inflorescence, usually before the first bud opens. This plant does not exhibit either of these two key characteristics. Kew POWO lists two entries for A. grandiflora. A. grandiflora (Lindl. 1833) is synonymous with A. arachnites and is not this flower. A. grandiflora (Lindl. 1844) is accepted by Kew and matches this flower.

Finding

SITF confirms this plant as Catasetum juruenense (Oct 2024). Closely matches the photos of Ctsm. juruenense in the OW. It is a good match to the photograph in Holst's, "The World of Catasetums". This species considered to be similar to Ctsm. callosum. The flower form matches that of Ctsm. juruenense and the flower size is in range, as well as the leaf size and number of leaves per pseudobulb according to Bakers' description in the OW.

Finding

SITF confirms this plant as Galeandra schunkii (Sep 2024). This plant matches photos in the OW and the orchidroots.com and a photo of the G. schunkii awarded in Brazil in 2015, 1ST/CAOB, as seen in the OW. It is an excellent match to the photos in Richardiana 9:64 (2009).

Finding

SITF has determined this plant to be Acanthophippium curtisii, not A. eburneum (Sep 2024). Drawings of A. curtisii on the IOSPE match this plant better than the A. eburneum drawing. In the "Gardener's Chronicle" the description of A. eburneum is compared with A. curtisii. The differences include: A. eburneum's perianth is ivory-white; that of curtisii is rose-colored; the lip of eburneum is almost unilobed with the side lobes barely resolved from the midlobe; that of curtisii is distinctly trilobed, as is this plant; the crest in eburneum consists of a single, sharp trianglar line while that of curtisii is more complex with five keels. This disk is clearly does not have a single triangular line. Both species are found in Borneo.

Finding

SITF confirms this plant as Restrepia royi (Sep 2024). One of the defining characteristics of this species is the lip, which when viewed from the side, looks like a child's slide or a swimming pool slide. This feature can be seen in the profile photo of this plant. This species was recently described in 2023 by Kevin Holcomb and Wiel Driessen. The measurements appear correct. The convex epichile of the lip is considered a distinguishing feature in their description.

Finding

SITF confirms this plant as Lepanthes tonduziana (Sep 2024). This plant has been identified by Franco Pupulin as Lepanthes tonduziana. The flower size is in range. The form matches the photo and drawing of L. tonduziana in the IOSPE; The plant can be seen as a single flowered, successive bloomer on the back of the leaf in the plant photo which matches the description of Lepanthes tonduziana in the IOSPE. It also matches two photos in the orchidroots.com.

Finding

SITF has determined this plant to be Pleurothallis setosa, not Muscarella fimbriata (Sep 2024). Franco Pupulin has identified this plant as Andreettaea fimbriata; he transferred Muscarella fimbriata to Andreettaea fimbriata, published in Lankesteriana 2023, Supplement 43, but Muscarella fimbriata is considered by Kew to be a later synonym of Plths. setosa. To date, Kew has not accepted Andreettaea fimbriata. This plant matches Luer's drawing and photos of Plths. setosa in the IOSPE.

Finding

SITF has determined this plant to be Dracula chimaera, not Dracula tubeana (Sep 2024). This plant was originally awarded as Dracula tarantula which was then recognized as Dracula tubeana in Sept 2020. It was challenged as D. chimaera which fits the description better than D. tubeana based on is shape, coloration, and fixed lip. Also, Dracula tubeana has a very distinct color pattern that is different from this plant which does fit D. chimaera.

Finding

SITF confirms this plant as Stelis luz-marinae (Sep 2024). This species was described in "A new species of Stelis subgen. Unciferia (Orchidaceae: Pleurothallidinae) from Costa Rica by Gustavo Rojas-Alvarado in the Phytotaxa Article published in 2023. This plant matches the species, S. luz-marinae, as described in the article and identified by the taxonomist Dr. Franco Pupulin.

Finding

This award was nullified by the AOS (Aug 2024).

Finding

This award was nullified by the AOS.