Pleurothallis alajuelensis [Karremans & Pupulin] in ed. SUBGENUS Specklinia SECTION Hymenodanthae SUBSECTION Apodae-Caespitosae [Lindl.]Luer 1986

Comparison Photo of related species

Photos by © Adam Karremans and

Common Name or Meaning The Alajuela Pleurothallis [A province of central Costa Rica]

Flower Size .12" [3 mm]

Found in Costa Rica and Nicaragua at elevations of 100 to 750 for those in the Caribbean lowlands and 1025 to 1235 meters in premontane forests as a hot to cool growing, caespitose epiphyte with a short, ascending, terete ramicaul completetly enveloped by papyraceous, subancipitous, acute sheaths and carrying a single, apical, narrowly obovate to linear, minutely and irregularily emarginate apically, mid vein protrudung abaxially into a small apiculae, gradually tapering below into the conduplicate, petiolate base leaf that blooms in the fall and winter on a laterally from the apex of the ramicaul, without an annulus, peduncle terete, to 1.6" [to 4 cm] long, with a distant glandular, terete bract, rachis to .2" [5 mm] long, successively single, to 6 flowered inflorescence with infundibuliform, glandular, broadly ovate, acute to subacuminate, almost as long as the ovary floral bracts.

Karremans and Bogarin included the collections below 750 meters from the Caribbean lowlands of Nicaragua and Costa Rica and these could represent a different species. Aside from the obvious ecological differences they can also be set aside morphologically but they declined to name them separate species.

"In Costa Rica, P alajuelensis and P vittariifolia have been confused with each other in herbaria. The first can be easily recognized from the second by the leaves that are less than 10 times as long as wide (while the second have extremely narrow leaves that can be more than 15 times longer than wide). The inflorescence of S. alajuelensis produces a lax inflorescence of an extremely slow succession, and always becomes longer than the leaf. The inflorescence of S. vittariifolia does not exceed the leaf length even though it can also produce several flowers over time; the flowers are born closely together making the inflorescence sub-fascicled." Karremans & Pupulin 2015

This species is part of the Pleurothallis glandulosa Group, made up of P vittarifolia, P chontalensis and P gersonii

Synonyms Specklinia alajuelensis Karremans & Pupulin 2015;

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;

* Phytotaxa Vol 218 (2) Karremans and Pupulin 2015 as Specklinia alajuelensis drawing/photo fide;

Pleurothallids Neotropical Jewels Vol 1 Karremans & Viera 2020 as Specklinia alajuelensis photo fide

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