''Soterosanthus shepheardii'' is a species of

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

found in

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

and

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

, and the only species of the

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

genus ''Soterosanthus''. This species segregated from ''

Sievekingia ''Sievekingia'' is a genus of orchid, comprising 20 species found in Central and South America, from Nicaragua east to the Guianas and south to Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = ...

'' because of its upright

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

. Flowers are somewhat similar to ''Sievekingia'' as is the plant stature, being on the small side, around 6" tall. Plants are semi-deciduous and warmth tolerant. Grow in small pots of medium grade bark mix under same conditions as for ''

Gongora ''Gongora'', abbreviated Gga in horticultural trade, is a member of the orchid family (Orchidaceae). It consists of 65 species known from Central America, Trinidad, and tropical South America, with most species found in Colombia. They grow acro ...

''; shaded light, even moisture, drier in winter. It is a rarely seen relative of '' Stanhopea''.Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez. (eds.) 1999. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador, Monographs in Systematic Botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden 75: i–viii, 1–1181. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis

References

External links

* *
Orchidworks.com ''Soterosanthus shepheardii''
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q3308322, from2=Q10909506 Monotypic Epidendroideae genera Stanhopeinae genera Stanhopeinae Orchids of Colombia Orchids of Ecuador