Stelis soconuscana Solano 2011 SECTION Stelis

TYPE Drawing by © R Solano

AND AGAIN

Common Name The Soconusca Stelis [A region of Chiapas where the orchid occurs]

Flower Size .08" [2 mm]

Found in Chiapas state of Mexico and possibly Guatemala from the slopes of the Tacana volcano in coffee plantations at elevations of 1600 to 1700 meters as a mini-miniature sized, cool growing, densely caespitose epiphyte with erect, straight, terete, 2 internoded ramicauls enveloped almost completely by narrow, scarious, tubular, obtuse, carinate, mucronate sheaths and carrying a single apical, erect, fleshy, blade slightly arching, linear-elliptic to linear oblong, rounded, emarginate apically, with a minute mucro between the lobes, attenuate below into the channeled petiolate base leaf that blooms in the spring and again in fall on an erect, arising through a thickened, scarious, conduplicate, triangular, acute, shortly apiculate, carinate annulus, racemose, peduncle .52 to .8" [1.4 to 2 cm] long, provided with a funnel-shaped, membraneous, oblique, broadly obtuse apically, apiculate, carinate bract, longer than the leaf, 2.6" [6.5 cm] long, producing new inflorescence over years, nocturnal, opening and closing over several days, simultaneosuly many flowered inflorescence with funnel-shaped, narrow, membraneous, oblique, broadly obtuse apically, apiculate, carinate, shorter than the ovary floral bracts and carrying nocturnal, purple red flowers.

"Among the Mexican members of Stelis, this species exhibits a floral morphology similar to S. aemula, S. martinezii, S. nagelii, S. oaxacana, S. parvula, and S.veracrucensis. The most similar species is S. bidentata, which differs by having relatively narrower leaves .12 to .2" vs .18 to .24" (3 to 5 mm vs. 4.6 to 6.0 mm), a raceme longer than the leaf 3.4 vs 2.6" (8.5 cm vs. 6.5 cm), larger floral bracts .6 to .08 vs .32 to .04" (1.5 to 2 mm vs. 0.8 to 1.0 mm), and larger flowers. Furthermore, Mexican populations of S parvula are found at lower elevations from 900 to 1600 meters in the Central Plateau of Chiapas." Solano 2011

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;

*Brittonia 63: 326 Solano 2011 drawing fide;

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