Gardener's Chronicle & Agricultural Gazette 1: 398. 1877-78.

Bockemuhl_L et K Senghas, 1986, Comparettia macroplectron Rchb. f. & Triana 1878, Orchidee, 37(5): pages centrales, détachables (2p.).  

Foster, R. C., 1958, A catalogue of the ferns and flowering plants of Bolivia, Contributions from the Gray Herbarium of Harvard University, 184: 1-223.

Sheehan, Tom et Marion, 1977, Orchid Genera, Illustrated - 58 - Comparettia, American Orchid Society Bulletin, 46 (9), p. 805.

Teuscher, Henry, 1976, Collector's Item / Scelochilus, Neokoehleria and Comparettia, American Orchid Society Bulletin, 45 (7), pp. 597-602.

Williams, Benjamin Samuel, The Orchid Grower's Manual, 1894, pp. 211-212.

     Dans un courriel (20 avril 2005), Pedro Ortiz Valdivieso, indique : "En Colombia ciertamente es común (aún hoy día lo es) en la vertiente oriental de la Cordillera Oriental (Departamentos de Cundinamarca y Boyacá), alturas entre 1300 y 2300 m". Cette distribution était déjà mentionnée dans l'ouvrage de l'auteur, publié en 1982, Orquídeas ornementales de Colombia (p. 143).

     En ce qui a trait à la possible distribution équatorienne, Leonore Bockemuhl et K Senghas, dans un article publié dans Die Orchidee, en1986, "Comparettia macroplectron Rchb. f. & Triana 1878" 37(5): pages centrales, détachables (2p.) écrivent : "Herr Cl. HORICH/Costa Rica teilte mir mit, daß er die gleiche Spezies sogar im Norden Ecuadors in der Nähe der Stadt Pichincha gesehen habe. Leider wurde seine Angabe aus Ecuador weder bestätigt noche dementiert,d.h. ich bekam auf diesbezüggliche Nachfragen keine Antwort." (p. 259) [ "Monsieur Cl. Horich, depuis le Costa Rica, m'a indiqué qu'il avait également vu la même espèce au nord de l'Équateur, près de la ville de Pichincha. Malheureusement, sa présence dans cette région n'a pas été confirmée ni démentie - c'est-à-dire, je n'ai pas obtenu de réponse à des requêtes additionnelles à ce sujet." (ma traduction)]

     Quant à elle, Irene Bock, dans un article publié en 1986 dans Die Orchidee, "Revision der Gattung Comparettia Poepp. & Endl.: Teil 3" [37 (6)], indique qu'elle a trouvé l'espèce à l'ouest de la Colombie.

numérisation : gracieuseté de Peter Fowler, UK / Thanks !                                       

source de l'illustration : Curtis's Botanical Magazine, Vol. 109 series 3, 1883, planche 6679. 

numérisation : gracieuseté de Peter Fowler, UK / Thanks !

COMPARETTIA MACROPLECTRON RCHB. F. & TR.

        COMPARETTIA. Vide Lindenia, vol. II, p. 30.
        Comparettia macroplecton. Foliis oblongo-ligulatis acutis ; pedunculo paucifloro ; racemo secundo ; bracteis minutis squamaeformibus ; sepalo limpari ligulato acuto ; sepalis paribus connatis fronicatis ligulatis acutis ; petalis cuneato ovatis acutis ; labelli auriculis in basi obtusangulis, isthmo lineari carinifero ; lacinia antica subquadrata medio antice emarginata cum apiculo, lateribus externis denticulata ; calcaribus inclusis elongatis subtiliter papulosis ; tabula infrastigmatica oblique prona ; carina per mediam foveam stimgaticam perpendiculari.
       Petala atropurpurea guttata. Labellum 35 mm longum, 25 mm latum. Nova Granata. Triana. Lehmann.
        Comparettia macroplecton RCHB. F.et TR. in Gard. Chron., new ser., 10 : 524 (1878), II: 398 (1879, et 24: 365, cum. ic. xyl. (1885). - WILL,, Orch. Album, II, t. 65. - The Garden, XXX (1883), t. 385. - VEITCH, Man. Orch., IX, p. 166. - L. LIND., Orch. exot., p. 670, cum ic. xyl.

        Comparettia macroplectron was discovered in 1878 in New Granada by the well-known Botanist JOSÉ TRIANA. In a short note in The Gardeners' Chronicle for October of that same year, it was referred to by REICHENBACH as "a very beautiful thing". That same author described it in much more detail in that same journal in March of the following year.

        REICHENBACH wrote :
        "It is a very pleasur to state that this curious species has just developed its flowers in England. I have at hand a raceme of four flowers, far larger than those of the well-known C. falcata, Poepp., Endl., and coccinea, Lindl., boasting the long spurs of the lateral connate sepals, which include the two genuine spurs of the lip of orange colour on inferior halves, and covered with numerous minute short hairs. The flowers are whitish, washed with rose-red, and have the broad acute petals and the quare blade of the lip covered with numerous gay rosy-red spots, the sides of the lip being toothletted."
        REICHENBACH obviously had an inflorescence from the first flowering at hand, as it only showed four flowers, and therefore, was quite poor. Well established plants produce slender, somewhat archinf inflorescences of up to 3 feet in length, bearing ten to fifteen flowers in a loose raceme. The lip is much larger than the other segments and just about equally wide as long.
        We have instructed our painter to figue on the annexed plate two forms that have flowered among the plants imported by L'HORTICULTURE INTERNATIONALE from Columbia. The one is as the most common forms with a whitish, only slightly rosy colour, with purplish red spots on the large broad petals and on the pale rose lip, where they bring out the veining, the other is a much rarer variety with a much brighter colouring, all the segments having a distinct rose ground, and the sepals as well as the petals are spotted with bright red.
        CULTIVATION - Comparettia macroplectron is an epiphytic plant, of small habit. It does very well in a small basket, suspended near the glass and in the same compost as used for the Cattleyas. It can also be kept in the same temperature, but should be given more air and plenty of light. Waterings should be abundant during the growing season. In winter, the compost is to be kept less moist, but should never be allowed to dry out completely.
        It is advisable to shade the plant somewhat when the sun is at its strongest during the nice season. We advise, however, to make sure that the shading is removed as soon as there is no more direct sunlight onto the greenhouse or when the sun has lost its force."

source du texte et de l'image : Lindenia.

"C. Macroplectron.
            Stems about an inch long, sheathed by rigid scales, usually monophyllous, but sometimes diphyllous, in which case the leaves are unequal. Leaves linear-lanceolate, acute, 3-5 inches long. Scapes slender, sub-pendulous, 18-24 inches long, dull crimson, racemose, rarely paniculate along the distal half, 10-15 flowered. Flowers nearly 2 inches across vertically ; dorsal sepal oblong, whitish, apiculate, sometimes spotted with purple, keeled behind ; the lateral two connate into a boat-shaped body at the base of which depends the slender spur nearly two inches long ; petals similar and equal to the dorsal sepal ; lip broadly clawed with two small trangular auricles at the base from which two slender spurs extend into the sepaline spur to about half its length ; the blade sub-orbicular, deeply emarginate, the auricles and claw white dotted with rose-purple, the blade light rose reticulated with purple. Column white.
                  Comparettia Macroplecton, Rchb. in Gard. Chron. X (1878), p. 524. Id. XI. (1879), p. 398 ; XVIII (1882), p. 616 ; and XXIV. (1885), p. 365, icon. xyl. Williams' Orchid Alb. II, t. 65. The Garden, XXX. (1883), t. 385.
            The largest-flowered species yet introduced but less brilliant in colour than the others ; it is also distinguished from them by its much larger spur. It was originally discovered by Señor Triana, a Colombian botanist, and introduced by Messers. Low and Co. in 1878."

source : .Veitch, .James, A Manual of Orchidaceous Plants, Part IX, 1893, pp. 166-167.

références et numérisation de ces textes et de l'illustration / references and scans of the texts and illustration : kindly provided by Peter Fowler, UK -- Merci / Thanks !

source de l'illustration :

Williams, Benjamin Samuel, The Orchid Grower's Manual, containing descriptions of the best species and varieties of orchidaceous plants in cultivation together with notices of their times of flowering, and most approved modes of treatment ; also, plain and practical instructions relating to the general culture of orchids ; and remarks on the heat, moisture, soil, seasons of growth and of rest best suited to the several species and varieties, 1894, p. 212.

   
"nos florece sólo en Semana Santa ... por eso se llama popularmente Cuaresma"
(communication personnelle - courriel de Guillermo Angulo, 25 novembre 2003)

Bogotá, Colombia

Gracias / Grazie / Merci !

       Ci-haut, dans la rue principale de Fómeque (Cundinamarca), tenant un spécimen de l'espèce: Crisanto Gutiérrez. Ce dernier est le jardinier responsable de la collection d'orchidées de Guillermo Angulo qui sont cultivées à La Unión (Cundinarmaca), dans un jardin surnommé Orquidiócesis de Tegualda. 

       Crisanto et son épouse, Hilda Gómez, participent toujours aux randonnées de collecte d'orchidées de Guillermo qui vit dans la capitale, Bogotá. 

espèce, in situ

       Su árbol preferido es el guayabo, (Psidium guajaba), que es de tronco extremadamente liso. ... Los ejemplares más vigorosos se encuentran sobre otros árboles, como el arrayán (Myrtus foliosa), con muchas hojas y corteza rugosa, y con menos luz de la que encuentran en los guayabos."

(communication personnelle - courriel de Guillermo Angulo, 7 août 2005)