Microchilus ruizteranii Ormerod 2008

TYPE Drawing by Paul Ormerod and Harvard Pap. Bot. 13: 82 fig 35 Ormerod 2005

Full Shade CoolLATE Winter

Common Name RuízTeran's Microchilus [L. RuízTeran, Venezuelan botanical explorer and pharmacist and Co collector of the type later 1900's]

Flower Size .12" [3 mm]

Found in Amazonas department of Peru under dense undergrowth in moderately dense forests at elevations of 1860 to 2000 meters as a miniature to small sized, cool growing terrestrial with an erect, terete stem carrying 6, obliquely elliptic, acute to subacuminate, petiolate base leaves that blooms in the winter on an erect, terminal, pubescent, " [24.3 to 30.1 cm] long, peduncle 6" [17.8 to 19.7 cm] long, provided with 2, scattered, acute sheathing bracts, rachis 4.2" [6.5 to 10.4 cm] long, subdensely many flowered inflorescence with ovate-lanceolate, acute, longer than the the ovary floral bracts and carrying externally pubescent, white flowers

"This species is closely related to its Venezuelan congener Microchilus carbonerae but M ruizteranii has a laxly (not subdensely) flowered inflorescence, flowers with narrower (.058 versus .074" [1.45 vs. 1.85 mm]) petals, a broadly elliptic (not subquadrate) labellum hypochile, obliquely obovate (not oblong-obovate) epichile lobules, and a longer (.011" versus .096" [2.75 vs. 2.40 mm]) column. The plant misidentified as Erythrodes ovata (Lindl.) Ames in Dunsterville and Garay (1965), is Microchilus meridanus and is from the same Venezuelan State and altitude as M. ruizteranii. However, the former entity differs from M. ruizteranii in having narrower .048 versus .74" (1.2 vs. 1.85 mm) oblong-ligulate (not obliquely oblong-obovate) petals that are acute and truncate (not obtuse and sublobulate)". Ormerod 2008

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;

* Harvard Pap. Bot. 13: 83 Ormerod 2005

Harvard Pap. Bot. 13: 82 fig 35 Ormerod 2005 as drawing fide;

Materials to the Orchid Flora of Colombia Vol 1: 260 Szlachetko & Kolanowska 2017 drawing fide;

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