Microchilus giraldo-gensinii Ormerod 2008

TYPE Drawing by © Paul Ormerod and Harvard Pap. Bot. 13: 76 fig 26 Ormerod 2008

Common Name Girardo Gensin’s Microchilus [Colombian co-collector of the type current]

Flower Size .08” [2 mm]

Found in the Valle de Cauca department of Colombia in cloud forests at elevations around 1900 meters as a small sized, cool to cold growing terrestrial with a creeping rhizome giving rise to an erect, terete stem carrying 3 to 5, s obliquely narrowly elliptic, ovate to ovate-elliptic, subacuminate, petiolate base leaves that blooms in the spring on an erect, terminal, pubescent, 17.6 to 24.16” [43.5 to 60.4 cm] long; peduncle green, 9.6” [24 to 28.8 cm] long, provided with 3, scattered sheathing bracts, rachis 6.64 to 14.96” [16.6 to 34.6 cm] long, laxly to sublaxly many-flowered inflorescence with ovate-lanceolate, acute, yellow-brown to red, shorter to longer than the ovary floral bracts carrying externally pubescent flowers with either green sepals and white petals, sepals and petals yellow-brown or sepals and petals reddish coffee-brown with white apices.

"This species does not appear to have any close relatives, but florally it is somewhat similar to the PanamanianM. subquadratus which also has a trilobulate labellum hypochile. However, M. giraldo-gensinii has a lax to sublaxly (not densely) flowered inflorescence, flowers with a shorter .0104 to .011" versus .016” (2.6 to 2.75 vs. 4.00 mm) ellipsoid (not narrowly oblongoid) spur, and an epichile with oblong to rectangular (not obovate-elliptic) lobules." Ormerod 2008

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;

* Harvard Bot Pap. Bot. 13: 75 Ormerod 2008 drawing fide;

Harvard Pap. Bot. 13: 76 fig 26 Ormerod 2008

Orchids of the Department of Valle del Cauca Vol 1: 73 Kolanowski & Szlachetko 2012 drawing fide;

Materials to the Orchid Flora of Colombia Vol 1: 358 Szlachetko & Kolanowska 2017 drawing fide;

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