>Yes, you could check if the petals (especially those of the lower lip) are
>+/- as broad as long and if they overlap each other (vs longer than broad
>and not overlapping: _P.vulgaris_). The sepals should be just the opposite:
>well separated and spreading (vs. coalescent and +/- parallel in
I have the flowering plant in front of me now. The petals are purple and
white, as I said before. The petals on the lower lip are somewhat longer
than broad---the center petal is 7mm long, 5 mm broad (cuneate), and the
two adjacent petals are 6 mm long, 4 mm long (cuneate/rectangular). The
petals do not overlap. As for the sepals, I am not sure if comments on them
are of any value, since this flower has six (2 lower, four upper). It
appears that the calyx lobe at the 12:00 position has bifurcated for at least
half its length. The remaining four sepals are arranged in a perfect X-shape,
at position angles 30 degrees, 150 degrees, 210 degrees, 330 degrees
(measuring angles clockwise from the vertical, or +y axis). So they seem
+- well separated and spreading. So I DON'T KNOW!
On another note: I looked at my _U.humboldtii_ yesterday, since I have a
few people hounding me for divisions, and saw an interesting growth. The plant
sent what appeared to be a wirey leaf petiole up out of the _Sphagnum_, which
then ducked back into the _Sphagnum to produce a number of bladders and
rhizoids. TAYLOR describes a similar behavior by specimens of this plant,
and theorized that perhaps the plant colonizes new locations or _Bromeliads_
this way. Interesting.
Barry