Microchilus ecuadorensis (Garay) Ormerod 2002

Drawing by © Dodson and The Swiss Orchid Foundation at the Jany Renz Herbaria Website

Common Name The Ecuadorian Microchilus

Flower Size .08" [2 mm]

Found in Esmeraldas department of Ecuador in tropical wet forests at elevations around 200 to 300 meters as a medium sized, hot growing terrestrial with a decumbent rhizome giving rise to an ascending then erect, glabrous stem carrying 3 to 5, obliquely oblanceolate-elliptic, acuminate, mottled with light and dark green, gradually tapering below into the petiolate base leaves that blooms throughout the year on a terminal, erect, pilose, to 8" [20 cm] long, peduncle to 5" [12.5 cm] long, with a few sheaths, rachis to 3" [7.5 cm] long, cylindric, loosely to subdensely many flowered inflorescence with ovate lanceolate, acuminate, pilose, as long as to longer than the ovary floral bracts and carrying small, yellow green flowers with densely glandular sepals.

Separated from all others in Colombia by the oblong-elliptic hypochile combined with a sagittate-anchoriform epichile that is subobtuse at the apex. The similar lip form is observed in M hughjonesii but the width of its epichile is twice wider than in M ecuadorensis and its spur is weakly clavate-oblongoid and not attenuate towards the apex.

Synonyms *Erythrodes ecuadorensis Garay 1978

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;

Flora of Ecuador No 9 225[1]: 279 Garay 1978 as Erythrodes ecuadorensis drawing fide;

Icones Plantarum Tropicarum Plate 099 Dodson 1980 as Erythrodes ecuadorensis drawing fide;

* Lindleyana 17: 216 Ormerod 2002

Materials to the Orchid Flora of Colombia Vol 1: 441 Szlachetko & Kolanowska 2017 as Kreodanthus ecuadorensis drawing fide;

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