Cranichis muscosa Sw. 1788 Photo courtesy of Mark Nir and Orchidaceae Antillianae

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Common Name The Moss-Loving Cranichis

Flower Size 1/4" [.65 cm]

Found as a miniature sized, cool to hot growing terrestrial herb occuring in Florida, Mexico, Beliaze, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, Bahamas, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Leewards, Puerto Rico, Trinidad & Tobago, Windwards, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil in wet montane forests at elevations of 200 to 2950 meters with a basal rosette of up to 7 , elliptic to ovate-elliptic, acute to subobtuse, light to medium green leaves with conduplicate petioles that blooms in the fall, winter and early spring on a terminal, erect, to 12" [30 cm] long, stout, purple-green, glabrous scape with leaflike sheaths ending in a subdensly, many flowered inflorescence with successively opening, nonresupinate, glabrous flowers.

Synonyms Cranichis bradei Schltr. 1922; Cranichis ovata Wikstrom 1827;

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Symbolae Antillanae Vol VI Orchidaceae Urban 1909; Native Orchids of Trinidad Schultes 1960; Venezuelan Orchids Vol 4 Dunsterville & Garay 1966; Flora de Venezuela Foldats Volumen XV Part 1 1969; The Orchids of Cuba Llamacho & Larramendi 2005; Orchidaceae Antillanae Nir 2000; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum Plate 367 Dodson 1980; AOS Bulletin Vol 73 No 11 2004 photo; Vanishing Beauty; Native Costa Rican Orchids Vol 1 Pupulin 2005; AOS Bulletin Vol 77 no 1 2008 photo

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