Microchilus viridissimus Ormerod 2008

TYPE Drawing by Paul Ormerod and Harvard Pap. Bot. 13: 85 fig 39 Ormerod 2008

LATE

Common Name The Greenest Microchilus

Flower Size .12" [3 mm]

Found in Santiago-Zamora and Tungarahua provinces of Ecuador in wet montane forests at elevations around 1460 to 1770 meters as a medium sized, cool growing terrestrial with a lower part not seen, and a terete, stem carrying 3 to 4, obliquely ovate-lanceolate to ovate-elliptic, acute to subacuminate, pale green, petiolate base leaves that blooms in the late spring on an erect, pubescent, terminal, pubescent, 19.8 to 21.2" [49.5 to 53 cm] long, peduncle 11.48 to 11.72" [28.7 to 29.3 cm] long, provided with 6, lax sheathing bracts, rachis 7.36" to 8.4" [18.4 to 21 cm] long, densely many flowered inflorescence with lanceolate, acute, greenish cream, twice longer than the ovary floral bracts and carrying flowers with the basal part of the sepals bright green and the tips pure white.

"This species appears to be related to the Colombian M dolichostachys but it has a denser inflorescence and flowers with a longer .076 to .08 versus .06" (1.9 to 2 vs. 1.5 mm) spur and wider .12 to .14" versus .093" (3 to 3.5 vs. 2.25 mm) labellum epichile. The description of M. viridissimus is derived solely from the type material. The other collection referred here has longer stem internodes to 3.2" (to 8 cm long), slightly broader leaves to 2" wide (to 5 cm wide), and a broader base to the labellum hypochile .76" (1.9 mm wide), but it otherwise agrees well with the type." Ormerod 2008

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;

* Harvard Pap. Bot. 13: 86 Ormerod 2008

Harvard Pap. Bot. 13: 85 fig 39 Ormerod 2008 drawing fide;

Materials to the Orchid Flora of Colombia Vol 1: 367 Szlachetko & Kolanowska 2017 drawing fide

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