Acineta superba chromolithograph from Van Houtte

The Genus Acineta

Lindley 1843

© Nina Rach
Edited 20 January 2008

Acineta foliage resembles the large, plicate leaves of Stanhopea and Lycaste, but the flowers are more similar to Peristeria, in that the side-lobes of the lip are joined by a central callus, usually 4-pronged. Additionally, the hypochile (basal part) of the lip is long, at least as long as the sidelobes. The column is usually fuzzy (pubescent). Acinetas bear many-flowered, pendant racemes. Each flower bears two waxy pollinia, except for Acineta dalessandroi, which has four pollinia (and may not belong in the genus). Some species are fragrant, such as Acineta barkeri, beyrodtiana, chrysantha, erythroxantha, and superba. The flowers are pollinated by male bees in the genus Eulaema or Eufriesia.
For related genera, also see Lacaena and Lueddemannia.

Culture: Most of the species grow epiphytically in wet forest at altitudes of 800-2000 meters. Cultivate in baskets under moist, intermediate to cool conditions. Plants that are grown too warm will be stressed, drop leaves, and form keikis at the top of the pseudobulbs. For more information and photos visit the Acineta culture page.

The species:

Most-likely valid species (14): Acineta alticola; antioquiae; barkeri; chrysantha; cryptodonta; dallesandroi; erythroxantha; hagsateri; hennisiana; mireyae; moorei; salazarii; sulcata; superba.

? Possibly valid species (4): Acineta densa; gymnostele; hrubyana; sella-turcica.

?? Dubious species (7): Acineta arcuata; beyrodtiana; colosa; confusa; longiscapa; manizalensis; schilleriana.

* Not valid species (7): Acineta colmanii; fulva; glauca; humboldtii; warscewiczii; wolteriana; wrightii

At right, a chromolithograph of a yellow-flowered Acineta published in Curtis's Botanical Magazine in 1846, possibly under the genus Peristeria.

Acineta alticola C. Schweinfurth, Fieldiana, Botany 28(1): 192, fig.37. 1951.
[Venezuela, Brazil] - Isotype at AMES, collected 7 Nov 1944 by J.A. Steyermark, in Venezuela. Bolívar. Holotype at F.
Found in Amazonas State (Liesner & Holst 21648; 1500-1760m;
"Epiphyte. Flower yellow with reddish specks inside. Summit"; blooming 4 March 1987) and in Bolivar State (Holst 3828; 1700-1800m; "Epiphyte on tree trunk reclining over river; inflorescence pendant; tepals greenish-yellow, interior ones with pale orange spots; column pale green, lip (upper) pale yellow with orange spots"). Found in the Roraima area of southern Venezuela, where it has been spotted on tepuis such as Auyantepui, Chimantatepui, and Toronotepui, from 1000m to over 2000m. The Dunstervilles wrote that it was seen growing over a wide range, from 1800' to 8000'.
Flowers are generally bright yellow, cupped and tulip-like, with a simple fleshy callus, as distinguished from the complicated callus of Acineta erythroxantha. This species has been featured on a Venezuelan postage stamp, with a value of 12 Bolivars, issued as part of a sheetlet of ten stamps on 22 May 1991.

Acineta antioquiae Schlechter, Orchis. Monatsschrift der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Orchideenkunde 11: 33, fig. 9. 1917. [Colombia]
Two photos by Jean-Marie Vanderwinden in Belgium: Plant with inflorescences, and flowers

AOS Award:

Acineta antioquiae 'Amira' Certificate of Horticultural Merit (CHM)/AOS (87 pts), awarded in Colombia, March 2000. AQ 31/250.

?? Acineta arcuata Schlechter, Orchis. Monatsschrift der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Orchideenkunde 11: 44, fig. 15. 1917. [Colombia]

Acineta barkeri (Bateman) Lindley, Edwards's Botanical Register 29: Misc. lc 68. 1843. [Mexico]
Bears up to 15 flowers on 18-inch pendulous inflorescences. The flowers are waxy-satiny, cupped, and very fragrant; creamy to vivid golden yellow with a large blood-red blotch on the lip, surrounded by red freckles on the sidelobes and sometimes on the base of the petals. Fuzzy column.
At right, an illustration of Acn. barkeri with hummingbird Calothorax pulcher, completed by Rafael Montes de Oca in the 1870's, and finally published in Hummingbirds and Orchids of Mexico (1963).

AOS Awards:

Acineta barkeri 'Pendulous Prime' AM/AOS 81 pts, awarded 8 Oct 2000 at the Cinncinnati Center Monthly Judging; exhibited by Stephen Helling.

Acineta barkeri 'Cascada de Oro' CCM/AOS 85 pts, awarded July 1986 in Seattle/Tacoma. AQ 18/92P.

Acineta barkeri var. aurantiaca Lemaire, L'Illustration Horticole 2: tab. 44. 1855.
The only Acineta sp. published by Antoine Charles Lemaire (1801-1871). Orange-red colored.

?? Acineta beyrodtiana Schlechter, Orchis. Monatsschrift der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Orchideenkunde 11: 28. 1917. [Colombia] - Pendant racemes of mustard/gold tones with fine dark spotting; bears up to 30 fragrant blooms.

Acineta chrysantha (C. Morren) Lindley & Paxton,
Initially published by Charles Francois Antoine Morren as Neippergia chrysantha in: Annales de la Societe Royale d'Agriculture et de Botanique de Gand: Journal d'Horticulture et des Sciences Accessoires[Ann. Soc. Bot. Gand], v. (1849) 375. t. 282.
Later revised to Acineta chrysantha by Lindley & Paxton and published in: Paxton's Flower Garden i., p. 31 (1850-51).
Native to El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia.
More recently collected at 5000 ft elevation in the Chiriqui province of Panama (C.W. Powell 417; "Grows in considerable shade and moisture. Bulbs and leaves very large, the leaves heavily nerved. Flowers yellow S&P with purple red lip and col. Flowered in Aug 1924")
The plants are robust growers with pendulous racemes bearing many waxy, spicy-scented, bright yellow blooms. Grows best if kept moist and in bright light with intermediate-warm conditions.
Small photo at upper right provided by Darrin Norton of Mountain Orchids, grown in Vermont.

Photo at lower right provided by Patricia Harding, grown in Oregon.

OSCOV Award:

Acineta chrysantha 'Paridisa' CC & HCC, awarded 9/04/1999; exhibited by Paradisa Orchids, Australia.

AOS Awards:

Acineta chrysantha 'Atlanta' CBM/AOS (83 pts), awarded October 1964 in St. Louis, MO. RA 5/763.

Acineta chrysantha 'Buttercup' HCC/AOS (78 pts), awarded November 1989 in Long Beach, CA. AQ 22/16P.

Acineta chrysantha 'Victoria' HCC/AOS (77 pts), awarded September 1989 in Costa Rica. AQ 21/201.

- Connect to another Photo of Acineta chrysantha by Eugen Ulmer [If link doesn't work, try here].

?? Acineta colosa Sander, Orchid Review 6: 287. 1898. [Ecuador?]
The entire entry reads as follows: "F.W. Moore, Esq.., Royal Botanic Garden, Glasnevin, sent a ten-flowered inflorescence of an Acineta, called A. colossa, Sander, to which a Botanical Certificate was given. The flowers were of a light whitish-yellow, with a few dull purple markings towards the base of the lip, and the column pubescent."

* Acineta colmanii R.H. Torr., Gardener's Chronicle & Agricultural Gazette, ser. 3, 35: 173. 1904. [Panama]
The only Acineta published by Raymond Hezekiah Torrey (1880-1938); = Acineta superba

?? Acineta confusa Schlechter, Orchis. Monatsschrift der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Orchideenkunde 11: 37. 1917. [Central America?]

Acineta cryptodonta Rchb.f., Bonplandia 2: 92. 1854. [Colombia]
The type specimen, in the AMES Herbarium at Harvard, was verified by: G. A. Romero & I. Ferreras.

Acineta dalessandroi Dodson, Icones Plantarum Tropicarum 10: t. 901 (1984). [Ecuador]
This species has a short inflorescence with many buds. Flower buds are closed, never open, species appear to be cleistogamous. Has four pollinia, unlike any other Acineta species. G. Gerlach (Munich) questions whether this species belongs in the genus (pers. comm.). Found at 2000-3000m in the Andean provinces of Loja, Zamora-Chinchipe; also collected in Loja, in vicinity of Yangana-Valladolid, by Dodson & Embree #13232 (20 Jul 1982, 2200m).

? Acineta densa Lindl. & Paxton, Paxton's Flower Garden 1: 91. 1850-51. [Panama];
= Acineta chrysantha
Flowers are large, creamy-yellow, pendant. See photo of Acn. densa "Herrenhaeuser Gold" and another depiction of Acn. densa, both from Wolfgang Renner's German website [If those links don't work, try here]. Clackamas Orchids in Oregon has a photo of a spotted variety.

AOS award:

Acineta densa 'Carrie' CHM/AOS (83 pts), awarded October 1978. AQ 11/54.

Acineta erythroxantha Rchb. f., Bonplandia 2: 92. 1854. [Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica].
This species has bright yellow-green, cupped flowers; lip is brighter yellow with red spots on callus and side lobes.
Found in Lara State (near Sanare) and Trujillo State (above Bocono) in Venezuela, around 1800 m elevation.
This species was bred successfully with Embreea rodigasiana to produce the intergeneric hybrid Acimbrea Sensacion, registered in 1986 by Mr. J. Posada.

Photo at right by Nina Rach, SOEM show in Caracas, 10/2000.

Hybrid: Aciopea Guillermo Gaviria (Acn. erythroxantha x Stanhopea wardii), hybridized by Guillermo Gaviria in 1994, bloomed in 2003 (Colombia).

SVCN Award:

Acineta erythroxantha ´Corpoandes´, HCC/SVCN, awarded in Venezuela, Cultivador: Corpoandes

AOS Awards:

Acineta erythroxantha 'La Merced' CBR/AOS, awarded in Colombia, November 1987. AQ 22/139.

Acineta erythroxantha 'Merceditas' AM/AOS (87 pts), awarded in Colombia, March 1993. AQ 25/71P.

Acineta erythroxantha 'PittiPat' HCC/AOS (78 pts), awarded in Cincinnati, Ohio, Mar. 22, 2003. AQ 34(4)/203P.

* Acineta fulva Klotzsch, in: Otto & Dietr. Allgemeine Gartenzeitung 20: 146. 1852. [Panama]
One of two Acinetas published by Johann Friedrich Klotzsch (1805-1860).
= Acineta superba var. fulva

* Acineta glauca Linden ex Lindl. & Paxton, Paxton's Flower Garden 1: 123. 1850-51.
= Lueddemannia pescatorei

? Acineta gymnostele Schlechter, Orchis. Monatsschrift der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Orchideenkunde 11: 45. 1917. [Panama, Costa Rica, Colombia]
- showy golden-yellow flowers with purple-sspotted lips.

Acineta hagsateri Salazar & Soto Arenas, Orchids of Mexico Parts 2-3, Icones Orchidacearum 5-6 Pl. 514, 2002. [Mexico]
- closely related to Acn. barkeri; ddistinguished by its larger, stouter hypochile. Golden yellow flowers with purple dots. Scented of cinnamon (cineole).

Acineta hennisiana Schlechter, Orchis. Monatsschrift der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Orchideenkunde 11: 32. 1917 [Colombia] - Photo from Klehm Growers

AOS Award:

Acineta hennisiana 'Socrates' C.H.M./AOS (82 pts); awarded in Colombia, November 1999. Exhibited by Socrates Forero. AQ 31/94C.

? Acineta hrubyana Reich.f., Gardener's Chronicle & Agricultural Gazette N.S. 18(2): 102. 1882. [Colombia? Belize?]
Named for J. Hruby.

* Acineta humboldti (Lindl.) Lindl., Edwards's Botanical Register 26: Misc. 68. 1843.
Also published under this name in the Lindenia (1899), plate DCXCV (695); image at right. Type species for the genus; named for Alexander von Humboldt [Panama]; = Acineta superba

?? Acineta longiscapa (A. Richard & Galeotti) Rchb. f., in: Botanische Zeitung. Berlin 10: 706. 1852. [Belize?]
The only Acineta published by Achille Richard (1794-1852) and Henri Guillaume Galeotti (1814-1858).

? Acineta maduroi - a Panamanian species not yet formally published. Looks similar to Acn. superba (cream to beige with darker burgundy spotting. Fragrant, found at 3,000 ft eleveation. Photo available at http://www.woodstreamorchids.com/acinmad1.html

?? Acineta manizalensis Rchb. f. [Colombia]
-- Flowers are a deep yellow-orange. Refereenced in book of Colombian orchids by Mariano Ospina H. (1958; see ref. list)

Acineta mireyae G. Gerlach & M.H. Weber 2003 [Panama]
Journal für den Orchideenfreund 10(3): 230-234.
Flowers are pendulous, green-yellow, and fragrant. The species was collected by Andrés Maduro and Erick Olmos in the Santa Fe region, in the province of Veraguas, at ~2,500-3,000 foot elevation. It is also reported from the Valley of Antón, in the province of Coclé. The species is named for Mrs. Mireya Moscoso Rodriguez, president of the Republic of Panama, in commemoration of the Centenary. Photo: http://www.canajagua.com/postal/acineta-mireray.jpg

Acineta moorei Rolfe, Botanical Magazine t. 8392. 1911. [Colombia]
Lithograph from Curtis' Botanical Magazine
Image by Maurice Grinfeder

Acineta salazarii Soto Arenas, Orchids of Mexico Parts 2-3, Icones Orchidacearum 5-6 Pl. 515, 2002. [southern Mexico & El Salvador, possibly Guatemala]
- similar to Acn. barkeri & Acn. hagsateeri, but larger (> 50mm), with a boat-shaped epichile.

?? Acineta schilleriana Rchb. f., Annales Botanices Systematicae 6: 609. 1864. [Colombia]
Publication edited by Wilhelm Gerhard Walpers. Published together with Acn. superba

? Acineta sella-turcica Rchb. f., Botanische Zeitung. Berlin 10: 705. 1852. [Venezuela, Columbia, Panama, Costa Rica]
A "type" specimen, in the AMES Herbarium, was verified by: G. A. Romero & I. Ferreras.
= Acineta chrysantha?.

AOS award:

Acineta sella-turcica 'Lemon Twist' CBR/AOS, granted OCt. 14, 2006 at Illinois Orchid Society Fall Mini Show, Glencoe, Illinois. Exhibited by Joe and Rosalie Dixler, Highland Park, Illinois. Color photo on inside back cover of Awards Quarterly, Sept. 2007.
Fifteen flowers on one 36-cm inflorescence; plant 14 cm by 47 cm, five pseudobulbs in a 15-cm by 15-cm slat basket; sepals, petals, and lip lemony yellow, petals and lip spotted burgundy; substance firm, texture waxy; species found from Costa Rica to Venezuela; identified by Robert Dressler (2006).
Natural spread 4.8 cm, 5.2 cm vertical.

Acineta sulcata Rchb.f., Gardener's Chronicle, new series 11(1): 652. 1879. [Ecuador]
Flowers are bright sulfur yellow. Provisional AOS award granted in Quito, 4 Feb. 2004; planted exhibited by Socrates Forero.

Acineta superba (Humboldt, Bonpland, & Kunth) Rchb. f., Ann. Bot. Syst. 6: 609 (1862). [Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador]
- see discussion about naming in the first paragraph of the webpage.

Epiphytic habit, grows at 500-1500m in coastal and Andean areas of El Oro Province in Ecuador. Fragrant waxy flowers to 3.0 in. and larger in size. The blossoms are variable in color from pale yellow to reddish brown, more or less densley spotted. The lip is brownish purple or red. In Venezuela, it has been found blooming in April, May, June, and August.
See also: Photo of Akerne's plant from Venezuela; Photo by Unger, Germany; and Photo of plant exhibited by Azienda Orchidea at the Monteporzio 2000 show in Italy, 14-16 April 2001.

Syn: Acineta humboldtii; Acineta fulva; Acineta colmanii.

Photo at right of a Colombian plant by Greg Allikas.

AOS Awards:

Acineta superba 'Amira' AM/AOS (84 pts), awarded in Colombia, April 1999. AQ 31/2.

Acineta superba 'Andrea' AM/AOS (81 pts), awarded in Colombia, April 1994. AQ 25/246.

Acineta superba 'Dick' HCC/AOS (78 pts), awarded in Oklahoma City, June 1988. AQ 20/140P.

Acineta superba 'Flormando' CBM/AOS (85 pts), awarded in Los Angeles, Feb. 1964. RA 5/715.

Acineta superba 'Jorge' AM/AOS (88 pts), awarded in Nov. 1981. AQ 13/252.

Acineta superba 'La Posada' CBM/AOS (87 pts), awarded in April 1965. RA 5/849.

Acineta superba var. fulva (Hooker) Schlechter.
This variety is endemic to Venezuela. The outside of the flowers is heavily spotted with maroon.

AOS Awards:

Acineta superba var. fulva 'Lil' AM/AOS (82 pts) and CBM/AOS (82 pts), awarded in San Francisco, CA in July 1975. AQ 7/108.

* Acineta warscewiczii (Kunth) Klotzsch, Allgemeine Gartenzeitung 20: 145. 1852. [Panama]
= Acineta chrysantha

* Acineta wolteriana (or volteriana) Schlechter, Orchis. Monatsschrift der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Orchideenkunde 11: 41. 1917. = Acineta erythroxantha

* Acineta wrightii J. Fraser, Gardening World 5: (1889); et ex Lindenia, iv. (1888) Named for Charles Wright?
= Lacaena spectabilis Reichb. f. [Mexico; Belize?]

The intergeneric hybrid between Acineta and Stanhopea is known as Aciopea. Guillermo Angulo, Tegualda Gardens, Colombia, has hybridized (1994), flowered (2003), and registered (2004) the first intergeneric cross that I know of, Aciopea Guillermo Gaviria (Stanhopea wardii x Acineta erythroxantha). See article " Aciopea, la flor de Guillermo Gaviria," (in Spanish) published in Medellín's El Mundo.com.

Intergeneric hybrids of Acineta and Embreea are known as Acinbreea (Acba.).

Harvard University Herbarium (as of 10 April 2003), Index of Botanical Specimens.
URL: http://brimsa.huh.harvard.edu/cms-wb/specimen_index.html
[6 specimens of 4 Acineta species listed: Acn. alticola C. Schweinfurth; Acn. cryptodonta H. G. Reichenbach; Acn. erythroxantha H. G. Reichenbach; Acn. sella-turcica H. G. Reichenbach]

International Plant Names Index (IPNI), http://www.ipni.org

RBG Kew, List of all known orchid species: http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/data/monocots/orch_all.pdf

TROPICOS: Flora of Panama Checklist: http://mobot.mobot.org/W3T/Search/index/panamasA.html [Acn. colmani, densa, fulva, humboldtii, warscewiczii]

Nueva Orquídea Panameña -- Acineta mireyae, by Ing. Jacinto Rodríguez Murillo [with photos of flower and author]. Posted at Canajagua.com, el Portal de lo Nuestro. Link: http://www.canajagua.com/

Preliminary Checklist of the Endangered Plants of Colombia, by the Alexander von Humboldt Biological Resources Research Institute, Bogota: http://www.humboldt.org.co/conservacion/Listas_Preliminares.htm [Acineta antioquiae; arcuata; beyrodtiana; chrysantha; cryptodonta; erythroxantha; gymnostele; hennisiana; moorei; schilleriana; superba]

Checklist of the Vascular Plants of Ecuador (CVPE): http://mobot.mobot.org/W3T/Search/index/EcuadoraA.html [Acineta dallessandroi; superba]

Peruvian Orchids, by Carlos Hajek: http://www.peruvianorchids.org/lc921.htm [Acineta superba]

" Aciopea, la flor de Guillermo Gaviria," (in Spanish) published in Medellín's El Mundo.com [first known intergeneric between Acineta and Stanhopea.]

Illustration of Acineta humboldtii by Dugald Stermer: http://www.art-attic.com/CATALOG/PIX/Flower-Garden/STERMER/pages/Acineta%20humboldtii.html

Paul Allen 1949. Flora of Panama: Orchidaceae. [Acineta chrysantha, Acn. superba, p. 381-383]

Oakes Ames and Donovan Stewart Correll 1985. Orchids of Guatemala and Belize. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 779p. [Acineta barkeri, p.7, found in Mexico but not Guatemala]

La Asociación Salvadoreña de Orquideología, (downloaded Nov. 2005) "Especies de El Salvador," http://www.orquideasdeelsalvador.com/anexos/876172306-ESPECIES%20DE%20EL%20SALVADOR.doc
8 page list of all the species, followed by 11 pages on certain individual species. List contains: Acineta chrysantha.

Helmut Bechtel, Phillip Cribb, Edmund Launert 1992. The Manual of Cultivated Orchid Species -Third Edition. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 585p. [Acineta chrysantha, Acn. gymnostele, Acn. superba, pp. 46-47]

David E. Bennett and Eric A. Chrinstenson 1993+. Icones Orchidacearum Peruviarum (Orchids of Peru). 600 drawings [Acineta superba (Kunth) Reichb.f., no. 203].

D.E. Breedlove 1986. "Flora de Chiapas," in: Listados Florísticos de México, 4: i--v, 1--246. [Acineta barkeri; chrysantha]

Rafael Lucas Rodriguez Caballero, Dora Emilia Mora, Maria Eugenia Barahona, Norris H. Williams 1986. Generos de Orquideas de Costa Rica. Editorial Universidad de Costa Rica. [pp. 220-221; watercolor of Acineta chrysantha (Morr.) Lindl. y Paxt.]

Colombian Orchid Society 1990. Native Colombian Orchids, vol. 1, pp.18-21. [-- species: Acineta ___]

Phillip J. Cribb, G. Lee, and J.J. Wood (Marzo 1981) "Indice de obras taxonomicas de Rudolf Schlechter en la revista Orchis 1906-1919 / Index to the taxonomic works of Rudolf Schlechter in the journal Orchis 1906-1919," in: Orquidea (Mex.) 8(1): 41-55+. [Acinetas, in vol. 11, pp. 28-45, fig. 9-15; 13 species: Acineta antioquiae; arcuata; beyrodtiana; confusa; gymnostele; hennisiana; superba; wolteriana]

Margaret A. Dix and Michael W. Dix 2000. Orchids of Guatemala, A Revised Annotated Checklist. St. Louis: Missouri Botanical Garden Press, 61p. [Acineta barkeri; Acn. chrysantha]

Calaway H. Dodson and P.M. Dodson 1980. Orchids of Ecuador. Fasc. 4: 301-400, in: Icones Plantarum Tropicarum. [Acineta collosa; pl. 359]

Calaway H. Dodson and P.M. Dodson 1984. Orchids of Ecuador. Fasc. 10, plates 901-1000, in: Icones Plantarum Tropicarum. Sarasota: The Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. [Acineta dalessandroi; pl. 901]

Calaway H. Dodson & Rodrigo Escobar R. 1993. Native Ecuadorian Orchids 1: 1-207. [the genus Acineta on pp. 34-35, Acineta dalessandroi Dodson; Acn. superba (H.B.K.) Reichb.f.]

Robert L. Dressler 1993. Field Guide to the Orchids of Costa Rica and Panama. Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca. 374p.
[p.144-145 [Acineta superba; Acn. chyrsantha; Acn. sella turcica]

Galfrid C.K. Dunsterville 1964. Introduction to the World of Orchids. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc. [pp.24-25: Acineta superba]

G.C.K. Dunsterville 1987. Venezuelan Orchids, Caracas: E. Armitano, Publisher, 128p. [Acineta alticola, pp.18-19; Acn. erythroxantha, pp.20-21; color plates]

G.C.K. and Elinor Dunsterville 1978. "Some Venezuelan endemic orchids," in: Amer. Orchid Soc. Bull. 47(2): 103-111. Col. illus. [Acn. ______]

G.C.K. and Elinor Dunsterville 1988. Orchid Hunting in the Lost World (And Elsewhere in Venezuela), West Palm Beach: American Orchid Society, 280p. [cover photo by G.C.K.D.: "Acineta superba, which occurs in cloud forests above the Venezuelan coast, produces spectacular, pendent inflorescenses of waxy, maroon-spotted flowers."]

G.C.K. Dunsterville and Leslie A. Garay 1959. Venezuelan Orchids Illustrated, Vol. 1. London: Andre Deutsch Limited. [Acineta fulva; Acn. superba, p.40]

G.C.K. Dunsterville and Leslie A. Garay 1965. Venezuelan Orchids Illustrated, Vol. 3. [Acineta alticola; Acn. glauca = Lued. pescatorei]

G.C.K. Dunsterville and Leslie A. Garay 1966. Venezuelan Orchids Illustrated, Vol. 4. [Acineta erythroxantha; Acn. Volteriana]

G.C.K. Dunsterville and Leslie A. Garay 1972. Venezuelan Orchids Illustrated, Vol. 5. [Acineta sella-turcica]

G.C.K. Dunsterville and Leslie A. Garay 1 Sept 1979. Orchids of Venezuela -- An Illustrated Field Guide Botanical Museum of Harvard University. [4 line-drawings on pp. 3-6: Acineta alticola; Acn. erythroxantha; Acn. sella-turcica; Acn. superba]

Rodrigo R. Escobar 1990. Native Columbian Orchids Medellin: Editorial Colina; Vol. 1, pg. 19-21. [Acineta ____]

Rodrigo R. Escobar 1994. Native Columbian Orchids, Volume 5 Medellin: Editorial Colina; Compania Litografica Nacional S.A. [Acineta section begins on p. 629; includes Acn. beyrodtiana. 14 species are reported from Colombia but only four are known in cultivation. ]

Günter Gerlach 1999. Die Orchideen, Band I/C, Lieferung 37/38 Subtribus: Stanhopeinae und Coeliopsidinae (Teil 1). Edited by Karlheinz Senghas, 128p., 142 illus.; ISBN 3-8263-3315-2. [9 species: Acineta alticola; antioquiae; barkeri; cryptodonta; dallesandroi; densa; erythroxantha; moorei; superba] [ offered by Blackwell, Berlin]

Günter Gerlach 2001. "Die Subtribus Stanhopeinae: 3. Horichia bis Lacaena," in: J. Orchideenfreund 8(2): 105-118 (2001) - col. illus.

Günter Gerlach & Michael H. Weber 2003. "Acineta mireyae, Eine neue Stanhopeinae aus den Regenwäldern Panamas / Una neuva Stanhopeinae de las selvas de Panamá," in: Journal für den Orchideenfreund 10(3): 230-234+. [2 color photos; 1 line drawing] URL: http://www.orchideen-journal.de/html/inhalt.html

E. Hagsater and G.A. Salazar 1990. Icones Orchidacearum Fasc. 1. Orchids of Mexico Part I. Assoc. Mex. de Orquideologia, Mexico. [Acineta ____]

Fritz Hamer 1974. The Orchids of El Salvador / Las Orquideas de El Salvador I and II. San Salvador: Ministerio de Educacion.

Fritz Hamer 1981. The Orchids of El Salvador / Las Orquideas de El Salvador III. Sarasota: Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. vol. 3, pp. 39-41. [Acineta ____]

Fritz Hamer 1988. "Orchids of Central America: An Illustrated Field Guide (A-L)," in: Selbyana 10: Supplement, 1--430. [Acineta chrysantha; also Lacaena sp.]

Harvard University Herbarium (as of 10 April 2003), Index of Botanical Specimens.
URL: http://brimsa.huh.harvard.edu/cms-wb/specimen_index.html
[6 specimens of 4 Acineta species listed: Acn. alticola C. Schweinfurth; Acn. cryptodonta H. G. Reichenbach; Acn. erythroxantha H. G. Reichenbach; Acn. sella-turcica H. G. Reichenbach]

Alex D. Hawkes (1965) Encyclopaedia of Cultivated Orchid Species, an illustrated descriptive manual. London: Faber and Faber, 602p. [Acineta chrysantha, Acn. superba, Acn. barkeri, pp. 29-31; B&W plate of Acn. chrysantha follows p.32]

Clarence Kl. Horich (1967) "Eine neue mittelamerikanische Acineta," in: Die Orchidee 18: 306-310. [Acineta ____]

Clarence Kl. Horich (1992) "Schone und seltene Acineta Arten," in: Orchidee 43(5): 197-202. illus., col. illus.

Alexander von Humboldt, A.J.A. Bonpland, and C.S. Kunth [HBK] 1815. [Anguloa superba] in: Nova Genera et Species Plantarum. [specimens found in the Catacocha Valley near Zaruma, Ecuador]

Alexander von Humboldt, A.J.A. Bonpland, and C.S. Kunth [HBK] 1816. [Anguloa superba] in: Nova Genera et Species Plantarum I (quarto edition). Librairie Grecque-Latine-Allemande, Paris. IDC 1988. The Reichenbach Herbarium/ Inter Documentation Company, Leiden, The Netherlands.

ING: Index Nominum Genericorum, from the U.S. National Herbarium, Dept. of Systematic Biology - Botany, Smithsonian Institution.
URL: http://rathbun.si.edu/botany/ing/

Rudolf Jenny 1979. "Die Gongorinae: 5. Die Gattung Lacaena Lindley," in: Orchidee 30(2): 55-62. Illus., col. illus.

Rudolf Jenny 1989. "Lacaena spectabilis (Klotzsch) Rchb. f. 1866," in: Orchidee 40(1): centre page pullout (2p.) - col. illus.

P.M. Jørgensen and S. León-Yánez (eds.) 1999. "Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Ecuador," in: Monographs in Systematic Botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden, 75: i--viii, 1--1182. [Acineta dalessandroi]

Lou Jost, "Orchids of the Jocotoco Foundation Reserves: The Tapichalaca Reserve (southern Ecuador)." URL: http://www.loujost.com/Jocotoco%20Reserves/Tapichalaca.htm [Acn. dallesandroi; 2200m]

Johann Friedrich Klotzsch (1852) "[Acineta fulva]," in: Otto & Dietr. Allgemeine Gartenzeitung 20: 146. [revised to Acn. suberba v. fulva]

Jack Kramer (1989) The World Wildlife Fund Book of Orchids. New York: Abbeville Press Publishers, 276p. [Acineta humboldtii color photo p.226-227]

C.H. Lankester (Feb. 1959) "Notes from Las Concavas: The Golden-flowered Acineta," in: Amer. Orchid Soc. Bull. 28(2): 116-117. [Acineta chrysantha; was Acn. densa]

Antoine Charles Lemaire (1855). "Acineta barkeri var. aurantiaca," in: L'Illustration Horticole 2: tab. 44.

Antoine Charles Lemaire (1855). "Acineta humboldtii," in: Flore des serres et des jardins de l’Europe, vol. 10, plate 992-993. Gent: Horto van Houtteano (private press of Louis van Houtte). Chromolithograph by Severeyns, Stroobant and De Pannemaker; finished by hand (sheet 240 x 340 mm with folds).

Lucien Linden (1 June 1896). Journal des Orchidees. Gand, Imprimerie Eug. Vander Haeghen, 347p. [Acineta humboldti, pp. 87-88]

Lucien Linden and Emile Rodigas (Eds.)(1899) "Acineta Humboldti," in: Lindenia, Iconographie des Orchidées. Ghent, Belgium: Jean Jules Linden, Vol. 5 of the second series, plate DCXCV (695). Lithography by P. De Pannemaeker et fils; published size: 10 ¼" x 14".

John Lindley 1843a. [Peristeria humboldtii] in: Edwards's Botanical Register 29: t. 18.

John Lindley 1843b. [Acineta] in: Edwards's Botanical Register 29: Misc. 67-68, no. 100 [Acineta barkeri; humboldtii]

John Lindley & Paxton 1849. "Acineta chrysantha (C. Morren)," in: Annales de la Societe Royale d'Agriculture et de Botanique de Gand: Journal d'Horticulture et des Sciences Accessoires 5: 375.

I. McLeish, N. R. Pearce & B. R. Adams 1995. Native Orchids of Belize . 1-278. [Acineta hrubyana, as Lacaena bicolor]

Francisco Miranda (1996; 2001) Orchids from the Brazilian Amazon. Rio de Janeiro: Editora Expressao e Cultura. Hard cover, 200+ photos, 191 pages; CD-ROM also available. [Acn. alticola attributed to the border regions of the Amazon].

Rafael Montes de Oca (1963) Hummingbirds and Orchids of Mexico. Editing and foreword by Carolina Amor de Fournier. Introd. and texts on the hummingbirds, by Rafael Martin del Campo. English version by Norman Pelham Wright. Published by Editorial Fournier, SA, Mexico. Printed by K.G. Lohse, Frankfurt-am-Main. 34 p. illus., 60 col. plates (incl. facsim.) 41 cm. [Acineta barkeri?]

Thomas Moore (1857) Illustrations of orchidaceous plants. London: Willis and Sotheran. [Acn. superba; see photo of lithograph, courtesy © Chicago Botanic Garden]
Book is 6" x 10", bound in green cloth with leather spine; includes 100 beautiful, hand-colored engraved plates mostly from The Botanical Register and British Flower Garden; many by famous artist Miss Drake. Text includes non-technical descriptions, culture, references, habitats of many cultivated species. See McQuerry's Connoisseur's List #19

Charles Francoise Antoine Morren or Morrill (1849) "[Neippergia chrysantha]," in: Ann. Soc. Bot. Gand 5: 375, t. 282. [revised by Lindley and Paxton to Acn. chrysantha in 1850-51]

Pedro Ortiz Valdivieso 1976. Orquideas de Colombia. Bogota, 230p. [Acineta erythroxantha; pg. 56, line drawing]

Luis F. Osorio 1941. Orquideas Colombianas / Colombian Orchids. Medellin: Felix de Bedout e Hijos, 106p. [Acineta sp.; cover embossing; color frontpiece; p.97, two B&W photos]

Mariano Ospina Hernandez 1958. Orquideas Colombianas / Colombian Orchids. Bogota: Publicaciones Tecnicas Ltda., 305p. [Acineta densa; Humboldtii; superba; manizalensis; pp. 148-153]

Mariano Ospina H. and Robert L. Dressler 1974. Orquideas de las Americas. Bogota: Litografia Arco, 496p. [Acineta erythroxantha; Fig. 151, color]

Guido F.J. Pabst and F. Dungs 1975. Orchidaceae Brasilienses, Volume I. Hildesheim: Brücke-Verlag Kurt Schmersow. [Acineta ____]

Edward Sprague Rand 1876. Orchid Culture. New York: The Rural Publishing. [Orchids. A Description of the Species and Varieties Grown at Glen Ridge... A Complete Manual of Orchid Culture].
Link to this book at the Digital Orchid Library, http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/orchids. Acineta on pp. 143-144; Acn. barkeri, humboltii, longiscapa, densa, erythroxantha, cryptodonta, sella-turcica.

Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach 1852. "Acineta longiscapa (A. Rich. & Galeotti)," in: Botanische Zeitung. Berlin 10: 706.

H. G. Reichenbach 1852. "Acineta sella-turcica," in: Bot. Zeitung (Berlin) 10: 705. [now Acineta chrysantha?]

H. G. Reichenbach 1854. [Acineta cryptodonta; Acn. erythroxantha] in: Bonplandia 2: 92.

H. G. Reichenbach 1861. [Acineta superba] in: Walp. Ann. vi. 609.
[transferred Anguloa superba H.B.K. 1815 to the genus Acineta]

H. G. Reichenbach 1862. [Acineta superba] in: Annales Botanices Systematicae 6: 609.
[transferred Anguloa superba H.B.K. 1815 to the genus Acineta]

H. G. Reichenbach 1864. "Acineta schilleriana," in: Annales Botanices Systematicae 6: 609. [Colombia]

H.G. Reichenbach 1879. "Acineta sulcata," in: Gardener's Chronicle, new series 11(1): 652. [Ecuador]

H.G. Reichenbach 1882. "Acineta hrubyana," in: Gardener's Chronicle & Agricultural Gazette N.S. 18(2): 102.

S.S. Renner, H. Balslev, & L.B. Holm-Nielson. 1990. "Flowering Plants of Amazonian Ecuador - A Checklist," in: AAU Reports, 24: 242. [Acineta ____]

Robert Allen Rolfe 1911. [Acineta moorei] in: Botanical Magazine (ser.4, 7): pl. 8392. [Colombia]

Gustavo A. Romero 1998. Venezuela, Orchid Paradise. Caracas: Armitano Editores, 204p. [Acineta superba; p.11 color; p.16 text]

Gustavo A. Romero and German Carnevali Fernandez-Concha (15 July 2000) Orchids of Venezuela, A Field Guide (2nd Ed.). Caracas: Armitano Editores, 3 gray volumes in a purple slipcase. 70 extra drawings added to the 1050 previously published by Dunsterville and Garay in the original 1979 Field Guide, and taxonomic corrections. [same 4 acinetas as Dunsterville & Garay 1979, on pp. 3-6: Acineta alticola; Acn. erythroxantha; Acn. sella-turcica; Acn. superba]

Gerardo A. Salazar 2003. "Acineta hagsateri," in: E. Hágsater y M.A. Soto (eds.), Icones Orchidacearum: Orchids of Mexico, parts 2-3. herbario AMO, México, D.F.

Gerardo A. Salazar & M. Soto Arenas 2002. "Acineta hágsateri, sp. nov.," in: Orchids of Mexico Parts 2-3, Icones Orchidacearum 5-6 Pl. 514.

Sander 1898. "Acineta colosa," in: Orchid Review 6: 287.

Rudolf Schlechter 1914-15. Die Orchideen. Berlin: Paul Parey.

Rudolf Schlechter 1917. [Revision of the Genus Acineta], in: Orchis. Monatsschrift der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Orchideenkunde 11: 28-45, fig. 9-15. [covers 13 species: Acineta antioquiae; arcuata; beyrodtiana; confusa; gymnostele; hennisiana; superba; wolteriana]

Rudolf Schlechter 1919. Die Orchideenflora der südamerikanischen Kordillerenstaaten. I. Venezuela. Repertorium Specierum Novarum Regni Vegetabilis Behifte 6: 1-100.

Rudolf Schlechter 1920. Die Orchideenflora der südamerikanischen Kordillerenstaaten. II. Colombia. Repertorium Specierum Novarum Regni Vegetabilis

Rudolf Schlechter 1924. Beitrage zur Orchideenkunde von Colombia.

Rudolf Schlechter 1927. Die Orchideen. 2nd Ed.

Rudolf Schlechter 1929. Figuren-Atlas su der Orchideenfloren der südamerika. Kordillerenstaaten.

Charles Schweinfurth 1951. Acineta alticola, in: Fieldiana, Botany 28(1): 192, fig.37.

Charles Schweinfurth 1958-61. Orchids of Peru I-IV. [amazingly, there are no Acinetas listed in vol. 3]

Charles Schweinfurth April 1967. "Orchidaceae of the Guyana Highland," in: Memoirs of the New York Botanical Garden 14(3): 69-214. [Acineta alticola on pg. 171]

Tom and Marion Sheehan (Sept)1992. 'Orchid Genera Illustrated, 148. Acineta,' in: AOS Bull. 61(9):882-883. [color plate of Acineta chrysantha]

Victoria Sosa and Teodoro Platas 1998. "Extinction and Persistence of Rare Orchids in Veracruz, Mexico," in: Conservation Biology 12(2): 451-455. [Acineta barkeri]

Miguel Angel Soto Arenas (2002) "Acineta salazarii, sp. nov.," in: Orchids of Mexico Parts 2-3, Icones Orchidacearum 5-6 Pl. 515.

Miguel Angel Soto Arenas (2003) "Diversidad de orquideas en la region El Momon-Margaritas-Montebello [Chiapas]," Final report of CONABIO Project R225; from Nov. 30, 1998 to Sept. 30, 2001. http://www.conabio.gob.mx/institucion/proyectos/resultados/InfR255.pdf [Acineta barkeri]

Julian A. Steyermark, Paul E. Berry, Bruce K. Holst 1995-2001. Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana Project, Volumes 1-6. St. Louis: Missouri Botanical Garden Press. [Acineta ____]
[Volumes 7-9 remain to be published]

Julian A. Steyermark and O. Huber 1978. Flora del Avila. Sociedad Venezolana de Ciencias Naturales. [Acn. superba]

R. Valencia, N. Pitman, S. León-Yánez & P. M. Jørgensen 2000. Libro Rojo de las Plantas Endémicas del Ecuador, i--iv, 1--489. [Acineta dalessandroi]

W. Mark Whitten, Norris H. Williams, and Mark W. Chase 2000. "Subtribal and Generic Relationships of Maxillarieae (Orchidaceae) with Emphasis on Stanhopeinae: Combined Molecular Evidence," in: American Jour. of Botany 87(12): 1842-1856. Article in .pdf format [Acineta ___]

L.O. Williams 1956. An enumeration of the Orchidaceae of Central America, British Honduras and Panama, in: Ceiba 5.

Norris H. Williams (1982) "The biology of orchids and euglossine bees," in: J. Arditti (Ed.), Orchid Biology, Reviews and Perspectives, II, pp. 119-171. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press. [Acineta; Cirrhaea; Gongora; Houlletia; Lacaena; Peristeria; Polycycnis; Schlimia; Sievekingia; Stanhopea].

Norris H. Williams , W.M. Whitten and C.H. Dodson (1984) "Preliminary analyses of the floral fragrances of species of Acineta, Houllettia, Lueddemannia, Lycomormium, Paphinia, and Sievekingia (Orchidaceae)," in: Selbyana 7(2–4): 315–317.

Awards to Acinetas: (AOS award unless otherwise noted)

Acineta antioquiae 'Amira' CHM/87 pts, awarded in Colombia, March 2000. AQ 31/250.
Acineta antioquiae 'Socrates' AM/83 pts, awarded in Cali, Colombia, 14 Nov. 2001. AQ 34(2)/83P. Exhibited by Socrates Forero, Bogota. 2 inflorescences, no flower count.
Acineta antioquiae 'Juanita' AM/83 pts, awarded in Pereira, Colombia, 21 Aug. 2002. AQ 34(2)/83. Exhibited by Socrates Forero, Bogota. 15 flowers on 1 inflor.

Acineta barkeri 'Pendulous Prime' A.M./AOS 81 pts, awarded 8 Oct 2000 at the Cinncinnati Judging Center; exhibited by Stephen Helling.
Acineta barkeri 'Cascada de Oro' CCM/AOS 85 pts, awarded July 1986 in Seattle/Tacoma. AQ 18/92P.

OSCOV Award: Acineta chrysantha 'Paridisa' CC & HCC, awarded 9/04/1999, exhibited by Paradisa Orchids, Australia.

Acineta chrysantha 'Atlanta' CBM/83 pts, awarded Oct. 3, 1964 at regional monthly judging in St. Louis, MO. Award description in RA 5/763 and AOS Bull. 34(3): 248 (March 1965).
"One spike of 31 greenish-yellow flowers with red speckling on lips and petals. Natural spread of flower 2-1/2"; sepals 1" wide, 1-1/2" long; petals 3/4" wide, 1-1/4" long; lip 3/4" wide, 1-1/4" long. -- Exhibitor: F.L. Stevenson, Chamblee, GA.

Acineta chrysantha 'Buttercup' HCC/78 pts, awarded November 1989 in Long Beach, CA. AQ 22/16P.
Acineta chrysantha 'Victoria' HCC/AOS (77 pts), awarded September 1989 in Costa Rica. AQ 21/201.

Acineta densa 'Carrie' CHM/AOS (83 pts), awarded October 1978. AQ 11/54.

SVCN Award:
Acineta erythroxantha ´Corpoandes´, HCC/SVCN, awarded in Venezuela, Cultivador: Corpoandes

Acineta erythroxantha 'La Merced' CBR/AOS, awarded in Colombia, November 1987. AQ 22/139.
Acineta erythroxantha 'Merceditas' AM/AOS (87 pts), awarded in Colombia March 1993. AQ 25/71P.

Acineta erythroxantha 'PittiPat' HCC/AOS (78 pts), awarded in Cincinnati, Ohio, Mar. 22, 2003. AQ 34(4)/203P.
"17 open flowers on one pendent inflorescence and 24 buds on 2 additional immature inflorescences; cupped flowers ddep golden yellow; lip yellow; raised midlobe dark maroon, Y-shaped callus tipped golden yellow; substance very heavy; texture waxy; flowers with pleasant fragrance. Nat. spr. 6.0 cm, 4.3 cm vert.; ds 3.0 cm w, 4.2 cm l; pet 2.0 cm w, 3.0 cm l; ls 4.0 cm w, 5.6 cm l; lip 2.7 cm w, 3.5 cm l. Exhibitor: Stephen Helbling, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Acineta hennisiana 'Socrates' C.H.M./AOS (82 pts); awarded in Colombia, November 1999. Exhibited by Socrates Forero. AQ 31/94C.

Acineta superba 'Benjamin' AM/83 pts, awarded in Pereira, Colombia, 21 Aug 2002. AQ 34(2)/83. Exhibited by Socrates Forero, Bogota. 23 flowers and 17 buds on 2 inflor.
Acineta superba 'Maria Teresa' AM/81 pts, awarded at the Northeast Judging Center, Boylston, MA, 4 May 2002. AQ 33(4)/215. Exhibitor: Carlos Fighetti. 33 well-formed flowers well-spaced on 3 pendent inflorescences; flower segments cream-colored, evenly overlaid with maroon spots; substance excellent; texture matte; flowers less cupped and with better form than typical for species. Nat. spr. 6.5 cm, 6.5 cm vert; ds 3.2 cm w, 4.5 cm l; pet 2.4 cm w, 3.8 cm l; ls 3.8 cm w, 5.1 cm l; lip 1.5 cm w, 2.5 cm l. Exhibitor: Carlos Fighetti, Closter, NJ.
Acineta superba 'Juanita' AM/82 pts, awarded in Cali, Colombia, 14 Nov 2001. AQ 34(2)/83. Exhibited by Socrates Forero, Bogota. 51 flowers and 1 bud on 2 inflor.
Acineta superba 'Forero' AM/86 pts, awarded in Cali, Colombia, 14 Nov 2001. AQ 34(2)/83. Exhibited by Socrates Forero, Bogota. 14 flowers and 3 buds on 1 inflor.
Acineta superba 'Amira' AM/AOS (84 pts), awarded in Colombia, April 1999. AQ 31/2.
Acineta superba 'Andrea' AM/AOS (81 pts), awarded in Colombia, 4/94.
Acineta superba 'Dick' HCC/AOS (78 pts), awarded in Oklahoma City, 6/88.
Acineta superba 'Flormando' CBM/AOS (85 pts), awarded at regional monthly judging in Hollywood, CA, Feb. 10, 1964. Award description in AOS Bull. 33(8): 669 (Aug. 1964).
"Two spikes with 11 flowers and 7 buds; flowers eggshell to pink, heavily spotted with maroon; lip deep mulberry red; ivory-colored column; spotting on both sides of floral segments gives the background a translucence. Natural spread of flower 2"; dorsal sepal 1" wide, 1-3/4" long; petals 1-1/8" wide, 1-1/4" long; lateral sepals 1-1/2" wide, 2-1/8" long; lip 3/4" wide, 1-1/4" long. -- Exhibitor: Rancho Flormando Orchids, Sepulveda, CA."

Acineta superba 'Jorge' AM/AOS (88 pts), awarded in 11/81.
Acineta superba 'La Posada' CBM/AOS (87 pts), awarded at the Medellin Flower Show, Colombia, Apr. 21, 1965.
"A fine color, greenish flowers; sepals heavily blotched and spotted dark red; lips greenish white with distinct red markings. Natural spread of flower 3"; dorsal sepal 1-1/8" wide, 1-5/8" long; petals 7/8" wide, 1-3/8" long; lateral sepals 1-1/8" wide, 2" long; lip 3/8" wide, 1-1/4" long. -- Exhibitor: Sra. Ines Mora de Posada, Medellin."

Acineta superba var. fulva 'Lil' AM/AOS (82 pts) and CBM/AOS (82 pts), awarded in San Francisco, CA in July 1975. AQ 7/108.

The Genus Stanhopea . . . The Genus Gongora . . . The Genus Cirrhaea

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