Microchilus familiaris Ormerod 2009

TYPE Drawing by © Paul Ormerod and Harvard Pap. Bot. 14: 122 fig 9 Ormerod 2009

LATE EARLY

Common Name The Familiar Microchilus [refers to its beng combined with Microchilus hirtellus for many years]

Flower Size .08" [2 mm]

Found in Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Leeward Islands., and the Windward Islands in secondary forest, rainforest and primary forest at elevations of 15 to 850 meters as a miniature to small sized, hot to warm growing terrestrial with a creeping, terete rhizome giving rise to an erect, terete stem carrying 4 to 7, obliquely oblong to oblong-lanceolate, rarely ovate to ovate-oblong, acute, sometimes with a paler median band or whitish strip, petiolate base leaves that blooms in the late winter and early spring on an erect, terminal, pubescent, 7.28 to 13.4" [18.2 to 33.5 cm long overall, peduncle 7.2 to 8.4" [17.5 to 21 cm] long; provided with 2 to 4, lax, lowest one often subfoliose sheathing bracts, rachis 1.4 to 6.32" [3.5 to 15.8 cm] long, laxly to sublaxly many flowered inflorescence with lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, acute, longer than the ovary floral bracts and carrying externally pubescent, white to greenish white flowers.

"After study of many specimens of Microchilus hirtellus , I have come to the conclusion that it comprises two distinct entities. The type form may be recognised by its ovate leaves, densely flowered inflorescence, flowers with a short .036 to .044" (.9 to 1.1 mm long) spur, and short, obovate-elliptic epichile lobules. The other entity, here described as M. familiaris, may be recognised by its oblong-lanceolate leaves, laxly flowered inflorescence, flowers with a longer .76 to .084" (1.9 to 2.1 mm long) spur, and ligu- late epichile lobules. Both species are occasionally sympatric and both are self-pollinating due to the column lacking a rostellum." Ormerod 2009

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;

* Harvard Pap. Bot. 14: 121 Ormerod 2009

Harvard Pap. Bot. 14: 122 fig 9 Ormerod 2009 Drawing fide

Orchid Flora of the Greater Antilles: 331 Ackerman 2014 Orchid Flora of the Greater Antilles: 330 Ackerman 2014

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------