Microchilus dasilvae Engels & E.C.Smidt 2022
TYPE Photos/TYPE Drawing by © M E Engels and Phytotaxa 555: 253 Engels and E C Smidt 2022
LATE
Common Name Da Silvas's Microchilus [Brazilian Orchidologist Marcos Aurélio da Silva current]
Flower Size .16" [4 mm]
Found in Brazil in the forest understory, in an ecotonal region between Ombrophilous dense forest and semideciduous seasonal forest, of the Atlantic Forest at elevations of 500 to 1000 meters as a medium sized, warm growing terrestrial with a decumbent becoming erect stem carrying 5 to 7, lanceolate to narrow-lanceolate, acute, petiolate base leaves that blooms in the spring on an erect, terminal, pubescent, peduncle 4.44" to 5.08" [11.1 to 12.7 cm] long, rachis 1.4 to 2.32" [3.5 to 5.8 cm] long, 19 to 27 flowered inflorescence with lanceolate, acute, margin entire and ciliate, acute, light-brown, shorter to longer than the ovary floral bracts and carrying externally sparsely hairy, green base, white flowers with central bilinear longitudinal brown spotted stripes.
"Microchilus dasilvae is similar to M. decorus due to the habit (small plants, up to 14" [35 cm] tall, and leaves up to about 2.4 to 3" [6 to 7.5 cm] in length) and floral display with stained sepals and mesochile with acute lateral lobes. It can be distinguished by the yellow (vs. white) mesochile and the broad-oval epichile about the same width as mesochile (vs. oblanceolate to narrow elliptical, proportionately narrower than mesochile). Additionally, M. dasilvae is similar to M. metallescens due to the habit and floral display with stained sepals and white lip with yellow mesochile. It can be distinguished from this one by the narrow-elliptical and sub-falcated petals, slightly asymmetrical (vs. ovate and symmetrical); lip with mesochile with acute lateral lobes (vs. rounded); broad-ovate epichile with apiculate and obtuse apex (vs. oblong, non-apiculate obtuse apex); sepals with bilinear central longitudinal macula (vs. longitudinally trilinear macula)." Engels and E C Smidt 2022
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
* Phytotaxa 555: 253 Engels and E C Smidt 2022 Drawing/photo fide
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