Sobralia sp

Sobralias,especially the terrestrial species ,boast large ,showy flowers with tubular lip. However ,they are extremely short -lived ,which seems to be -along with their bulky proportions -a great obstacle in their becoming more popular in orchid collections . The taxonamy of the genus Sobralia is still full of confusion ; a genus relatively uninteresting for cultivation is probably not enticing enough for taxonamists . The species from Venezuela in the photo (Sobralia liliastrum ?) lives, as do most Sobralia orchids ,as a ground grower and is very similar in apperance to the well -known S.leucoxantha .Its stem is 20-40 in /50 -100 cm long ,which classifies the plant among the more ''space -saving '' plants . Its white flowers are up to 3.2 in/8 cm across and have a yellow tubular lip with a white edge . Terrestic species of the genus Sobralia should be cultivated in a sand -enriched humic substrate ,provided with sufficient diffused light and good ventilation (that applies especially to sultry summer days). The presented terristrial plant blooms in the winter and spring and comes from the foothills of the Venezuelan Andes ,while the species in the other photo is an epiphyte and was photographed on the outskirts of the Amazonian Lowlands in Ecuador .The geographical area of the other Sobralia orchids is enormously large -they grow in a similar terrain all over tropical Central and south America.