Laelia anceps

Laelia anceps is found in Mexico and Honduras in coffee plantations, pastures, oak and oak/pine forests with a solitary leaf in tall scattered oaks, or on rocks below them or in pastures and coffee plantations, often in full sunlight, at elevations of 500 to 1500 meters as a medium sized, warm to cool growing epiphyte with ovate-oblong, compressed, edges acute, flattened-sides, ribbed pseudobulbs carrying 1 or rarely 2, apical, oblong-lanceolate, leathery, acute leaves that blooms in the autumn to spring in on a terminal cluster, 60 to 120 cm long, alternately sheathed, 2 to 6, vanilla scented, long-lasting flowered inflorescence

This epiphytic species needs a dry winter rest.

This is a truly great hardy drought-tolerant species from eastern Mexico with fantastic flowers, L. anceps is a Christmas bloomer, angular 10cm bulbs with a solitary thick dark green 20cm leaf, long 2 foot spikes each with clusters of 2 to 6 flowers, the very showy 6cm to 12cm blooms are pale lavender with an intense crimson lip that has a yellow/red striped center,

Very easy to grow and does very well outdoors down to 2 degrees celsius.

Laelia anceps has been divided into 2 major groups Laelia anceps var anceps which are found on the eastern side of Mexico and L. anceps var dawsonii which are found in the western half of Mexico.