Stelis flexuosa Lindl. 1843

SUBGENUS Apatostelis Duque 2008

Inflorescence Photo by © Lourens Grobler

Common Name or Meaning The Flexous Stelis

Flower Size 1/16" [3mm]

Found from Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia at elevations of 1200 to 3950 meters as a miniature sized, cold to cool growing terrestrial or lithophyte with a very slender stem enveloped basally by 2 to 3 tubular sheaths ans carrying a single, apical, oblanceolate to narrowly obovate, marginate leaf that gradually narrows into a short petiole that blooms in the summer 1 1/4 to 3 3/4" [3 to 9 cm] long, suberect to arcuate, filiform, fractiflex, racemose, several to many flowered inflorescence with minute, infundibuliform floral bracts and carrying very small, membraneous flowers

This determination seems suspect to me. I await further information but does not jive with Foldats nor Dunsterville, but the photo provided in Duque's compendium is very similar.

Synonyms Stelis tolimensis Schltr. 1924

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Venezuelan Orchids Illustrated Vol 4 Dunsterville & Garay 1966 drawing not; Flora de Venezuela Foldats Volumen XV Part 2 1970 drawing not; Orchids of Venezuela, An Illustrated Field Guide Vol 3 Dunsterville & Garay 1979 drawing not; Orchids of Venezuela [An illustrated field guide] Vol. 3 Ramiro and Carnevali 2000 drawing not; Orchidaceae Stelis Swartz A Compendium Duque 2008; Orchid Species Of Peru Zelenko & Bermudez 2009 photo fide

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