Microchilus canarensis (Ormerod) Szlach. & Kolan. 2017

TYPE Drawing of M crassibasis ssp canariense by © Ormerod and Harvard Pap. Bot. 11[2]: 159 fig 13 Ormerod 2007

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Common Name The Canar Microchilus [A province of Ecuador]

Flower Size .12" [3 mm]

Found in Canar province of Ecuador in deep shade in secondary mon- tane forest and on shrubby slopes at elevations around 1500 meters as a small sized, cool growing terrestrial with a creeping, terete rhizome giving rise to an erect, terete stem carrying laxly 5, obliquely ovate-lanceolate, to ovate-elliptic, subacuminate, petiolate base leaves that blooms in the late fall on an erect, terminal, pubescent, 13.2" [33 cm] long, peduncle 6.9" [17.2 cm] long, provided with 3, scattered sheathing bracts, rachis 6.2" [15.5 cm] long, subdensely 40 to 45 flowered inflorescence with ovate-lanceolate, held in the upper half of the rachis, acute, slightly longer to as long as the ovary floral bracts and carrying extremely pubescent flowers with dirty pale reddish-brown sepals and petals with whitish apices, and a whitish lip turning pale brownish with age.

"The illustrations of this plant and Microchilus crassibasis appear widely different. The reasons are that the two taxa are similar is in the sublax to subdense arrangement of the flowers; in having a labellum with a very fleshy basal half and in the similar sized column. Also the labellum epichile is variable in shape and size of the lobules in material ascribed here. They principally differ in the inverse proportions of the labellum hypochile. In M crassibasis the labellum hypochile is narrower in the basal half and slightly wider in the upper half whilst in M canarensis the hypochile is wider in the basal half and gradually narrowed toward the apex." Ormerod 2007

Synonyms *Microchilus crassibasis subsp. canarensis Ormerod 2007

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;

Harvard Pap. Bot. 11[2]: 158 Ormerod 2007 as Microchilus crassibasis subsp. canarensis

Harvard Pap. Bot. 11[2]: 159 fig 13 Ormerod 2007as Microchilus crassibasis subsp. canarensis drawing fide

*Materials to the Orchid Flora of Colombia Vol 1: 304 Szlachetko & Kolanowska 2017 drawing fide;

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