Stelis serrulifera Luer & Hirtz 2002 SECTION Stelis

TYPE drawing by Carl Luer

Common Name The Saw Carrying Stelis [refers to the margin of the lip]

Flower Size .32" [8 mm]

Found in Imbabura province of Ecuador in wet forests at elevations around 750 meters as a mini-miniature sized, warm growing, caespitose epiphyte with erect, slender ramicauls enveloped by a tubular sheath below the middle and 2 to 3 others at the base and carrying a single, apical, erect, coriaceous, elliptical, acute to subacute, cuneate below into the petiolate base leaf that blooms on 1 to 3, erect, peduncle 1.2 to 2" [3 to 5 cm] long, arising from an annulus below the apex of the ramicaul, rachis 2.8" [7 cm] long, subdense, subdistichous, mostly simultaneopusly several flowered inflorescence with infundibular, oblique, acute, shorter than the ovary floral bracts and carrying yellowish-white to greenish-white flowers with expanded, ovate, obtuse, minutely pubescent-cilate along the revolute margins, long villous at the apices, connate basally, 5 veined sepals, the transversely oblong petals and a thick transversely subquadrate lip.

"The species is similar to S argentata but the species is distinguished by the small, caespitose habit, elliptic leaves longer than the ramicauls and a slender, congested, secund raceme of very small flowers. The sepals are broadly ovate and coarslely pubescent, the petals are transverse, thin and concave and the lip is shallowly subquadrate." 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

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

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