Pleurothallis nikolae (A.Doucette & J.Portilla} in ed. SUBGENUS Apoda-Propentia Luer 1986
Photo by © Pepe Portilla and The Ecuagenera Orchid Website
TYPE Drawing by Alphonso Doucette
EARLY
Common Name or Meaning Nikole's Pleurothallis [Ecuadorian daughter of Jose Portilla, president of Ecuagenera current]
Flower Size .2" [5 mm]
Found in Zamora-Chinchipe province of Ecuador on coffee trees at elevations around 1200 meters as a miniature sized, cool growing, repent epiphyte with a creeping rhizome giving rise a short ramicaul enveloped by 2 to 3 papery sheaths and carrying a single, apical, elliptical, verrucose, purple spotted, non raised, scute, gradually narrowing below into the base leaf that blooms in the early spring on a very short, single flowered inflorescence with shorter than the pedicel floral bracts.
"The new species is most similar to P melanochthoda but differs in the hispid sepals that are larger and expanded/fused into lamina." Doucette & Portilla 2016
Synonyms *Acianthera nikoleae A.Doucette & J.Portilla 2016
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
* Phytotaxa 257 (3):231 © Doucette & Portilla 2016 drawing;
Pleurothallids Neotropical Jewels Vol 1 Karremans & Viera 2020 as Acianthera nikoleae photo fide
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