Stelis exasperata Luer 2002 SECTION Stelis

TYPE Drawing by Carl Luer

Common Name or Meaning The Short Rigid Points Stelis [refers to the petals]

Flower Size .16" [4 mm]

Found in Carchi province of Ecuador at elevations around 1950 to 2050 meters as a miniature sized, cool to cold growing, caespitose epiphyte with erect, slender ramicauls enveloped by a tubular sheath above the middle and 2 others at the base and carrying a single, erect, coriaceous, narrowly elliptic, acute, narrowly cuneate below into the petiolate base leaf that blooms in the fall on 1 to 3, erect, peduncle .6 to 1.6" [1.5 to 4 cm] long, arising through a .32" [8 mm] long, from an annulus below the apex of the ramicaul, rachis 1.4 to 2.8" [3.5 to 7 cm] long, congested, distichous, successively several, many flowered inflorescence with oblique, acute shorter than the ovary floral bract and carrying flowers with thin, light green to light rose, suffused with purple medially, microscopically shortly pubescent sepals, green or rose, transversly semi-lunate petals and a green or rose, thickly subquadrate lip.

"The species is characterized by slender ramicauls that are longer than the narrowly elliptic leaves. One to three congested racemes with small, widely spread flowers basically similar to many species that have inflorescence that surpass the leaves in length. The sepoals are broadly ovate and mocroscopically ciliate and pubescent. The petals ate broadly thickened nd covered by minute, sharp points along the rounded apex. In some specimens the points are reduced to cells. The lip is semi-orbicular witha small glenion, and a single rounded callus on the dorsum." Luer 2002

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;

*Icones Pleurothallidinarum XXIV A First Century of Stelis of Ecuador Luer 2002

Icones Pleurothallidinarum XXIV A First Century of Stelis of Ecuador Luer 2002 Drawing fide

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