Octomeria splendida Garay & Dunst. 1976

Drawing by © Carl Luer

Common Name The Splendid Octomeria

Flower Size .6" [1.5 cm]

Found in Bolivar state of Venezuela at elevations around 2000 meters as a miniature sized, cool to cold growing, caespitose epiphyte with relatively stout, erect, terete ramicauls enveloped by 4, imbricating, tubular sheaths and carrying a single, apical, erect, thickly coriaceous, recurved margins, narrowly elliptical, acute, narrowly cuneate below into the twisted, petiolate base leaf that blooms on a fascile of a few, peduncle .04" [1 mm] long, at the apex of the ramicaul, successively single flowered inflorescence with shorter than the ovary floral bracts and carrying dark red-purple flowers with yellow brown edges.

"Distinguished by the very thick leaves with recurved margins, The dark red flowers are borne by short pedicels and peduncles only .04" [1 mm] long, the sepals are free acute and three veined, the petals are ovate, acute and single veined. The lip is acutely deflexed near the middle into a corcular, minutely erose blade and a broad claw. The column is terete with an apical anther and stigma and there are 6 pollina in two clusters of three, each pollinium with a minute viscidium." Luer 2010

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; *Venezuelan Orchids Illustrated 6: 292 Dunsterville & Garay 1976 drawing fide; Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol XXXI Luer 2010 drawing fide ;

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