Microchilus nigrescens (Schltr.) Ormerod 2002
Plant and Flowers in situ Panama
Photos by © Wilfried Löderbusch
Photo by © Cetzal Ix and Nuevos registros de Orchidaceae para Honduras
Drawing as Erythrodes killipii by © Atwood 1993
LATE
EARLY
Common Name The Blackish Microchilus
Flower Size .2" [4mm]
Found in Costa Rica, Panama and Ecuador in premontane to lower montane cloud forests at elevtions of 400 to 1800 meters as a small to large sized, hot to cool growing terrestrial in deep shade with an elongate rhizome giving rise to an elongate stem carrying 5 to 8, convolute, elliptic-ovate, acuminate, gradually narrowing below into the distinct petiolate base leaves that blooms in the late winter, spring and summer on a terminal, 12 to 14" [30 to 35 cm] long, densely, somewhat successively many flowered inflorescence with puberulent, lanceolate, acuminate, twice as long as the ovary floral bracts and carrying small greenish white, puberulent extenally flowers with connivent sepals.
"Somewhat similar to Microchilus anderssonii and Microchilus tessellatus . In all three species the epichile is widest near the base and gradually attenuate towards the apex which is terminated by a transversely semilunate, apically obtuse or truncate epichile. M tesselatus differs mostly in its tessellated leaves and in contrast to M andersonii the hypochile of M nigrescens is thickened in the middle. The other similar species is Microchilus weberianus in which the floral bracts are shorter than the ovary about .2" [5 mm] long, the spur is more or less conical and is subequal in length to the hypochile." Szlachetko & Kolanowska 2017
Synonyms Erythrodes killipii Ames 1921; Erythrodes nigrescens (Schltr.) Ames 1922; Microchilus atwoodii Szlach. & Kolan. 2016; Microchilus killipii (Ames) Ormerod 2002; Physurus nigrescens Schltr. 1918
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
Beih. Bot. Centralbl. 36(2): 380 Schlechter 1918 as Physurus nigrescens
Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 34: 150 Ames 1921 as Erythrodes killipii
Studies in the family Orchidaceae Vol VII: 74 Ames 1922 as Erythrodes nigrescens;
The Orchids of Panama L.O. Williams & P Allen 1946 as Erythrodes killipii;
Icones Planetarum Tropicarum Plate 1532 Atwood 1993 as Erythrodes killipii drawing fide;
Native Ecuadorian Orchids Vol 2 Dodson 2001 as Erythrodes nigrescens drawing fide;
Lindleyana 17: 218 Ormerod 2002
Lindleyana 17: 217 Ormerod 2002 as Microchilus killipii
Manual De Plants De Costa Rica Vol III Hammel, Grayum, Herrera and Zamora 2003 as Erythrodes killipii drawing fide;
Orchids of Costa Rica Vol 1 Morales 2009 as Erythrodes killipii photo fide;
LANKESTERIANA 14(2): 115—121. Vega, Cetzal, Mo, Germer and Soler 2014 as Microchilus killippii photo fide;
Phyton (Horn) 56: 261 Szlach. & Kolan. 2016 as M atwoodii;
Materials to the Orchid Flora of Colombia Vol 1: 302 Szlachetko & Kolanowska 2017 drawing fide;
Lankesteriana 19(1). 31 - 55 2019 as Erythrodes killipii photo fide;
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