Encyclia diota
This is an easy species to grow which
readily adapts to warm or slightly cooler conditions. It is accustomed to a dry
period in the spring while flowering. It takes Cattleya conditions very well. I
have only seen it on the Pacific slope of the state of Oaxaca, between 2500 and
5000 ft. elevation growing on oak trees or on rocks. There appears to be a very
similar species ranging into central Oaxaca and then reappearing again in
central Chiapas, which several friends are calling Encyclia dressleri. This
later species I have found growing amidst another similar species, Encyclia
candolei at 5000 ft. northeast of Oaxaca City.
There used to be some confusion (maybe because of the book "The Genus Encyclia
in Mexico") as to why they would name the now accepted species atrorubens, diota
var. atrorubens! As far as I have been able to ascertain, the species atrorubens
blooms in the fall (mostly October, some September), while diota blooms in the
spring. The atrorubens comes only from a very limited area at 5000 feet in the
center of the state of Guerrero, while the diota comes from central Oaxaca,
south into Chiapas and some say into Guatemala and Honduras. The inflorescence
of atrorubens may reach 7 feet and carry over 100 flowers, while diota, well
grown, will seldom reach half of that and more commonly only has a dozen or so
blooms on a 2 foot inflorescence.
Plants out of bloom of Encyclia diota, may be confused with:
Encyclia aenicta
Encyclia aromatica
Encyclia atrorubens
Encyclia candolei
Encyclia dressleri
Encyclia hanburii