Microchilus gavilanensis (Ormerod & G.A.Romero) E.C.Smidt & M.W.Chase 2021

Photos by © G Romero.

TYPE Drawing of Ligeophila gavilanenssis

TYPE Drawing by © Bobbi Angell and Lankestriana 9(3): 513 Romero & Ormerod 2010

LATER

Common Name The Rio Gavilan Microchilus

Flower Size .2” " [.5 mm]

Found in Amazonas State of Venezuela at elevations around 120 meters as a miniature sized, hot growing terrestrial with a terete, lower half creeping, upper half erect rhizome giving rise to an erect stem carrying 4 to 5, obliquely narrowly elliptic to oblong-lanceolate, subacuminate, margins undulate, green-maroon, petiolate base leaves that blooms in the fall on a terminal, erect, pubescent, peduncle to 1.24 [3.1 cm] long, provided with 3 overlapping sheathing beacts, to 2.44 [6.1 cm] long overall, rachis 1.2" [3 cm] long, subdensely several flowered inflorescence with ovate-lanceolate, acute, longer than the pedicel floral bracts and carrying resupinate, externally pubescent flowers.

"M gavilanensis appears to be most closely related to M unicornis, also from Venezuela, both species having a labellum hypochile with similar sidelobes. From the latter, however, the new species differs in having broader .7 to 1.16” versus .37 to .6” (1.75 to 2.9 versus .93 to 1.5 cm) narrowly elliptic to oblong-lanceolate (not lanceolate) leaves, and flowers with oblong-lanceolate, obtuse (not broadly lanceolate, acute) epichile lobules, and an unappendaged (i.e., lacking an oblong, compressed projection) epichile. Another species with a similarly shaped labellum hypochile is L. jamesonii Garay, from Colombia and Ecuador. The latter has a much larger inflorescence the rachis is > 4.4” [>11 cm] long) of many more flowers and somewhat obliquely rhombic (not obliquely obovate-oblanceolate), narrower .6 to 1.12” (1.5 versus 2.8 mm) petals." Ormerod & Romero 2010

Synonyms Aspidogyne gavilanensis (Ormerod & G.A.Romero) Meneguzzo 2012; Ligeophila gavilanensis Ormerod & G.A.Romero 2010

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;

*Lankestriana 9(3): 513 Romero & Ormerod 2010 as Ligeophila gavilanensis

Lankestriana 9(3): 516 Romero & Ormerod 2010 as Ligeophila gavilanensis Drawing fide;

Orquidário 26: 89 Meneguzzo2012 as Aspidogyne gavilanensis

Materials to the Orchid Flora of Colombia Vol 1: 394 Szlachetko & Kolanowska 2017 as Ligeophila gavilanensis drawing fide;

* Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 197: 339 E.C.Smidt & M.W.Chase 2021

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