Stelis falcifera Luer & Hirtz 2002 SECTION Stelis

TYPE Drawing by Carl Luer

Common Name or Meaning The Sickle Bearing Stelis [refers to the spathes shape]

Flower Size .2" [5 mm]

Found in Pichinche province of Ecuador at elevations around 2550 meters as a mini-miniature sized, cold growing, climbing epiphyte with erect, stout, prolific ramicauls enveloped by a tubular sheath and another at the base and carrying a single, erect, coriaceous, elliptic, subacute, cuneate below into the petiolate base leaf that blooms in the fall on an erect , peduncle .8 to 1.2" [2 to 3 cm] long, rachis 5.2 to 6.8" [13 to 17 cm] long, congested, distichous, successively many, many flowered inflorescence with tubular, longer than the ovary floral bract and carrying flowers with spreading white, glabrous sepals, purple, transversly elliptical petals and a purple subquadrate lip.

"The species is characterized by the prolific habit, that creates a series of ramicauls up to a 40" [1 meter] long. Frome the base of each elliptic, petiolate base leaf the nest ramicaul ois produced along with a long, narrow, sickle like, curved spathe and the inflorescence. The cylindrical raceme is much longer than the leaf and is tightly packed with numerous, small, overlapping flowers. The sepals are white, the dorsal being slightly lager than the laterals, while the central fiogures are dark purple. The \lip is subquadrate wioth a glenion and a 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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