Stelis hispida Luer & Hirtz 2002 SECTION Labiatae

TYPE drawing by Carl Luer

Common Name The Short Rigid Haired Stelis [refers to the sepals]

Flower Size .08" [2 mm]

Found in Pichincha province of Ecuador at elevations around 1800 to 2200 meters as a mini-miniature sized, cool to cold growing, scandent epiphyte with erect, slender, proliferating ramicauls enveloped by 2 tubular, imbricating sheaths and carrying a single, apical, erect, coriaceous, narrowly elliptical, subacute, cuneate below into the petiolate base leaf that blooms on an erect, peduncle 2 to 3.2" [5 to 8 cm] long, from an annulus below the apex of the ramicaul, rachis 2.4 to 2.8" [6 to 7 cm] long, sublax, distichous, successively several, many flowered inflorescence with tubular, obtuse, a bit shorter to as long as the ovary floral bracts and carrying flowers with brown, glabrous externally, hispidous on the exterior sepals, green, membraneous, semi-lunate, broadly subquadrate petals and a green, subquadrate lip.

"This species is characterized by the scandent, ascending to erect rhizome that bears ramicauls shorter than the intervals between them. The ellptical leaves are surpassed by the sublax raceme of small flowers. The sepals are ovate, hispid withion, with the laterals free and held foward resembling a synsepal. The petals are membraneous and transverse with a broadly rounded apex. The lip is deeply concave anteriorly with the apex thin and rounded and the bar is deeply notched." Luer 2002

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;

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

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

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

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