Cryptocentrum, Bentham, 1881

Carnevali, German, Cetzal-Ix, William & Whitten, W. Mark, 2012, Cryptocentrum beckendorfii (Orchidaceae: Maxillariinae), an extraordinary new species from Andean Peru, Phytotaxa 68 (1), pp. 45-51 : 50

Key to the species of Cryptocentrum from Peru

1. Pseudobulbs present, plants with sympodial habit ....................................................................................................... 2

– Pseudobulbs absent, plants with monopodial habit ...................................................................................................... 3

2. Pseudobulbs ellipsoid, totally or partially hidden by the sheaths, these with foliar blades; leaves 15–37 mm long, hemicylindric or subtriquetrous; inflorescences thickly peduncled, (15–) 30–45 mm long; internodes of the inflorescence subequal in length to the subtending bracts; floral bract 11–12 mm long ........................... C. pseudobulbosum

– Pseudobulbs subspherical to subconical, broadly ellipsoid or broadly ovoid, when young clothed by several dark castaneous sheaths without blades that disintegrate into grayish fibers with age, totally naked when old; leaves 40–90 mm long, conduplicate, thinly coriaceous; inflorescences thinly peduncled, 40–60 mm long, internodes of the inflorescence twice as long as the subtending bracts. ............................................................................ C. beckendorfii

3. Leaves distichous; blades (3–)7–20(–30) cm long, conduplicate, coriaceous; inflorescences (2–) 3–10 cm long; floral bract totally enclosing the spur; spur (16–)18–28(–32) mm long ..................................................... C. inaequisepalum

– Leaves spiral; blades (1.0–)1.2–1.8(–2.5) cm long, hemicylindric to subtriquetrous; inflorescences 0.4–0.7 cm long; floral bract enclosing only 1/10 to 1/2 of the spur; spur (4.0–)4.5–7.0(–11.0) mm long ............................................. 4

4. Petals 7.5–10.0 mm long, ca. 2 mm wide, 3-nerved; spur 9–11 mm long; plants from elevations usually above 1500 m ..................................................................... C. peruvianum ssp. minus ( Schlechter 1912: 389) Carnevali (2001: 482)

– Petals 3.5–6.0 mm long, <1.5 mm wide, 1-nerved or very faintly 3-nerved; spur 4.5–7.0(–8.0) mm long; plants from elevations usually below 1500 m .................................................................................................................................... ...................................................... C. peruvianum ssp. peruvianum ( Cogniaux 1906: 331) Schweinfurth (1946: 188)