Pterichis elliptica Kolan. & Szlach. 2015 SECTION Acraea
TYPE Drawing/Holotype by © N. Oledrzynska and Marta Kolanowska
Common Name The Elliptic Pterichis [refers to the base of the lip]
Flower Size
Found in Zamora Chinchipe province of Ecuador in trail embankment, montane forest and wet páramo vegetation with numerous shrubs and thick layers of mosses at elevations of 2500 to 3700 meters as a small to medium sized, cold growing terrestrial with a single, elliptic, acute, petioalte base leaf that blooms at most any time of the year on an erect, sparsely glandular basally, densely glandular towards the apex, peduncle [24 to 32 cm] long, provided with 4 to 5 sheaths, [27 to 40 cm] long overall, rachis densely ciliate, 1.2 to 3.2" [3 to 8 cm] long, 3 to 9 flowered inflorescence with elliptic-lanceolate to elliptic, obtuse to acuminate, glabrous to almost so, shorter to just as long as the povary floral bracts and carrying greenish yellow or brownish yellow with maroon striped flowers.
"Pterichis elliptica resembles P. parvifolia from which it differs by the elliptic basal lip part (vs. reniform), rounded lip base (vs. truncate), and mid lobe of the lip constituting ca. 1/3 of the lip length (vs. mid lobe shorter than 1/2 of the total lip length)." Kolanowska 2021
" Pterichis elliptica var. ecuadorensis is distinguished from the typical form of Pterichis elliptica by the epiphytic habit, by the long,oblong-elliptic lip middle lobe which constitutes more than 1/3 of the total lip length. Moreover, it was found growing epiphytically on Polylepis Ruiz & Pav. (Rosaceae) in humid montane forest while other Pterichis almost always are terrestrial plants. In our opinion these features are suf?cient to consider it as separated variety." Kolanowska 2021
Synonyms Pterichis elliptica var. ecuadorensis Kolan., Szlach. & S. Nowak 2021
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Synopsis of Ecuadorian Pterichis [Orchidaceae] Kolanowska 2021 Drawing/collection sheet fide; * Synopsis of Ecuadorian Pterichis [Orchidaceae] Kolanowska 2021 as P elliptica var ecuadorensis Drawing/collection sheet fide;
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