Saundersia mirabilis Rchb. f. 1866
Plant and Flowers Photo courtesy of Americo Docha Neto
Common Name or Meaning The Grand Saundersia
Flower Size 1/4" [.6 cm]
Found in Espiritu Santo, Rio de Janiero, Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais Brazil in the Mantiqueira Rain Forest Mountains at elevations of 800 to 1500 meters as a miniature sized, cool to cold growing epiphyte with an erect, to slightly curved, robust stem enveloped basally by tight, imbricating, acute sheaths and carrying, erect to spreading, thick, narrowly wedge to strap shaped, flat to slightly concave, acute, narrows below into an elongate, narrow conduplicate petiole-like base leaves that blooms in the fall in situ on a nodding, to pendulous, 1.2 to 2" [3 to 5 cm] long, several flowered inflorescence enveloped completely by several, imbricating, acute sheaths with the flowers held towards the apex..
References W3 Tropicos [http://mobot.mobot.org/W3T/Search/vast.html] , Kew Monocot list [ http://www.kew.org/wcsp/home.do ], IPNI [ http://www.us.ipni.org/ipni/plantsearch?request_type=search&output_format=query&ret_defaults=on ] Orchid Species Culture: Oncidium, Bakers 2006
