Microchilus cruciformis (Ormerod) E.C.Smidt & M.W.Chase 2021

TYPE Drawing by © Paul Ormerod and Harvard Pap. Bot. 13: 56 fig 1 Ormerod 2008

Common Name The Cross Shaped Microchilus [refers to the lip shape]

Flower Size .12" [3 mm]

Found in Santa Cruz department of Bolivia in cloud forest amongst pastures for livestock at elevations around 2300 meters as a small sized, cold growing terrestrial with a creeping, terete rhizome giving rise to aterete, lower part decumbent becoming erect stem carrying 7 to 9, obliquely ovate-lanceolate, acute, petiolate base leaves that blooms in the summer on a terminal, erect, pubescent, to 7.28 to 11.2" [18.2 to 28 cm] long, peduncle 5.72 to 7.96" [14.3 to 19.9 cm] long, provided with 3 to 5, lax sheathing bracts, rachis 1.56 to 3.6" [3.9 to 8.1 cm] long, sublaxly to subdensely 6 to 20 flowered inflorescence with ovate-lanceolate, acute, as long as to just shorter than the ovary floral bracts and carrying glabrous, white flowers.

"This species is related to the Ecuadorian M sumacoensis but it has ovate-lanceolate (not broadly ovate) leaves, flowers with an elliptic (not hastate-trullate) labellum mesochile, spreading (not recurved) epichile lobules, and a prominent (not minute) labellum apex." Ormerod 2008

Synonyms *Aspidogyne cruciformis Ormerod 2008

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;

Harvard Pap. Bot. 13: 55 Ormerod 2008 as Aspidogyne cruciformis

Harvard Pap. Bot. 13: 56 fig 1 Ormerod 2008 as Aspidogyne cruciformis drawing fide

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

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