Laelia liliputana Pabst 1973 SUBGENUS Parviflorae SECTION Liliputinae Withner 1990 Photo courtesy of Andy's Orchids Copyright © 2002 All rights reserved.
Another Clone Photo by Sandra Hardy
Plant in situ - Alto do Ouro Branco, Minas Gerais, Brazil 1350 meters
Photos by © Jay Pfahl
and 
Common Name The Dwarf Laelia
Flower Size 4/5" to 1 1/4" [2 to 3 cm]
This mini-miniature sized , cool growing, lithophytic plant is found in Minas Gerais, Brazil at elevations around 1200 to 1400 meters growing under rock ledges, in small cracks and crevasses and under small vellozia bushes and has stiff, erect, tightly clustered, globose or oblong, purple tinged pseudobulbs carrying a single, purple tinged, stiff, ovate, fleshy leaf. The pseudobulbs are 1/16" [15mm] tall and carry an apical leaf that is that tall again or less, and blooms in the spring and summer on a 3/8" [1 cm] long sheathed inflorescence that does not arise through a sheath with a single flower held well above the plant.
Synonyms Cattleya liliputana (Pabst) Van den Berg 2008; Hoffmannseggella liliputana (Pabst) H.G. Jones 1974; Sophronitis liliputana (Pabst) C. Berg & M.W. Chase 2000
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
Orchid Digest Vol 38 no 6 1974 drawing/photo fide; Orchid Digest Vol 48 No 1 1984 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 57 No 2 1988 photo; Cattleya and Their Relatives Vol 2 Withner 1990 photo ok; Lindleyana Vol 15 No 2 2000 as Sophronitis liliputana; Mille et Une Mini Orchideees Roguenant 2009 as Sophronitis liliputana photo ok?; A Compendium of Miniature Orchid Species Parsons & Gerritsen 2013 as Cattleya liliputana photo fide
Laelia liliputana Pabst 1973 var albescens
This is a white variety that has not yet been described according to Mr Neto. One of the smallest of the Laeliinae, being less than 2 1/4" [less than 6 cm] tall when it is in full bloom! This epiphytic plant is found in Brazil and has stiff erect pseudobulbs that are 1/16" [15mm] tall and a leaf on top that is that tall again or less, and blooms on a 3/8" [1 cm] long sheathed inflorescence with a single flower held well above the plant.
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