Microchilus costaricensis (Ormerod & M.A.Blanco) E.C.Smidt & M.W.Chase 2021

Drawing by © Paul Ormerod and The Epidendra Website

Common Name The Costa Rican Microchilus

Flower Size .2" [5 mm]

Found in Costa Rica at elevations of 900 to 1200 meters as a small sized, warm to cool growing terrestrial with a creeping rhizome giving rise to a terete stem carrying 6 to 7, very dark green, iridescent above, greyish, purple or reddish gray beneath, obliquely ovate to ovate-elliptic, acute to subacuminate, gradually to abruptly narrowing below into the subpetiolate base leaves that blooms in the spring on a terminal, erect, pubescent, green, to 12" [to 30 cm] long, peduncle 8.52" [21.1 cm] long, provided with 3 to 4, lax sheathing bracts, rachis 3.2" [8 cm] long, laxly 15 to 20 flowered inflorescence with ovate-elliptic, reddish, acuminate, shorter than the ovary floral bracts and carrying externally, laxly pubescent, white flowers.

"This species appears to be most similar to the Ecuadorian M harlingii , but its flowers differ in having a broadly obovate-suborbicular (not subquadrate) labellum hypochile and much shorter .04" versus .116" (1 vs. 2.9 mm) epichile lobules." Ormerod 2009

Synonyms *Aspidogyne costaricensis Ormerod & M.A.Blanco 2009

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; essler, Monogr.

Monogr. Syst. Bot. 93: 178 Dressler 2003 as as Erythrodes sp

Manual De Plants De Costa Rica Vol III Hammel, Grayum, Herrera and Zamora 2003 as Erythrodes sp;

* Harvard Pap. Bot. 14(2): 111 Ormerod & M.A.Blanco 2009 as Aspidogyne costaricensis

Harvard Pap. Bot. 14(2): 112 fig 1 Ormerod & M.A.Blanco 2009 as Aspidogyne costaricensis drawing fide;

* Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 197: 338 E.C.Smidt & M.W.Chase 2021

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------