Pleurothallis alligatorifera Rchb. f. 1865 SUBGENUS Acianthera SECTION Brachystachyae Lindley 1859 Photo courtesy of Richard Korber.

Lip Detail Photo by Dalton Holland Baptista.

and

Common Name The Alligator Flower Pleurothallis

Flower Size 1/2" [1.25 cm]

Found in southeastern Brazil as a miniature, cool growing epiphyte with clustered stems carrying a single, apical, erect, leathery leaf and blooms from its base on an erect, to 12" [to 30 cm], slightly fractiflex, and has up to 12 widely spaced flowers ocurring in the spring and summer.

Synonyms Acianthera alligatorifera (Rchb.f.) Pridgeon & M.W.Chase 2001; Lepanthes blumenavii Barb.Rodr. 1891; Pabstiella alligatorifera (Rchb.f.) Luer 2007; Pleurothallis blumenavii (Barb.Rodr.) Cogn. 1896; Specklinia alligatorifera (Rchb.f.) F.Barros 1984

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Systematics of Pleurothallis Vol 3 Luer 1986; Lindleyana Vol 16 No 4 2001 as Acianthera alligatorifera; Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol XXVI Luer 2004 as Specklinia alligatorifera; Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol XXIX Luer 2007 as Pabstiella alligatorifera

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