Microcoelia corallina Summerh. 1945
Photos by Alan Gregg and Swansea Botanical Complex
Common Name or Meaning The Coral-Like Microcoelia [refers to the coral colored lip and column]
Flower Size .15" [4 mm]
Found in Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique in dry, hot woodlands on smooth-barked trees at elevations of 200 to 500 meters as a small sized, hot growing epiphyte with a mass of silver grey roots radiating from a short stem and blooms in the spring on several [3 to 6], 1 to 1.2" [2.5 to 3 cm] long, to 15 flowered inflorescence with acute, to acuminate, single nerved sheathing bracts only at the base which is unique to this species within the genus.
"This charming little species very closely resembles M. Hirschbergii in general habit, especially the very dense tuft of smooth grey roots, and also in the general structure of the flower. In details, however, there are numerous differences, and the color of the flowers is very different, M. Hirschbergii having two brown spots at the base of the lip, the flowers being otherwise pure white. A striking feature of M. corallina is the presence of large crystal-containing sacs in the tepals especially near both sides of the central nerve." Summerhayes 1945 W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
* Bot. Mus. Leafl. 11: 250 Summerhayes 1945 A Monograph of the Genus Microcoelia [Orchidaceae] Jonsson 1981 drawing; Malawi Orchids Vol 1 La Croix 1983 drawing fide; Orchids of Kenya Stewart Campbell 1996 photo fide; African Orchids in the Wild and Cultivation La Croix 1997 photo fide; Flora Zambesiaca Vol 11 Orchidaceae Part 2 Pope 1998; Angraecoid Orchids Stewart, Hermans and Campbell 2006 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 84 #10 2015 photo fide;
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