Michael [Benedito] asked : "what are th[e] major differences between those two taxa?:
My response is a horticultural answer, rather than a taxonomic answer. Horticulturally Lycaste aromatica is a medium sized Lycaste, the flowers are relatively small, about 3 to 5 cm in natural spread (1.5 to 2.5 inches across). They are greenish yellow to orange in color, most often clear yellow. There may be a few small red spots visible on the base of the lip where it joins the column, but not a dominant feature. Flowers fragrant of cinnamon. L. armonatica will grow well under intermediate conditions, it tolerates both cool and to some extent, warm temperatures fairly well. It does not do particularly well in a climate with year round night temps above 70 F (above 21 C), but it will tolerate several months of these high night temperatures in good shape. Lycaste cruenta is a robust growing Lycaste. Pseudobulbs can be as large as a man's fist, of course plants may flower on smaller plants, but ultimate size under ideal conditions is quite large. The flowers are fairly large, 8 to 11 cm natural spread (3 to 4.5 inches across). Flowers are similar to aromatica in color - a clear greenish yellow to golden orange, often a greenish yellow background with an orange overlay on the sepals. At the base of the lip, where it joins the column, there is a large easily visible red blotch. This blotch is a dominant feature of the lip easily seen when the lip is pulled down. Fragrance is similar to aromatica - a spicy cinnamon scent. Culturally Lycaste cruenta seems to resent warm summer temperatures. It does best in cool or intermediate temperatures. Hope this helps you spot the difference between the two without having to disect and measure the flower parts. Leo _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) orchids@orchidguide.com http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
