Brachionidium brevicaudatum Rolfe 1896
Photo by © Dunsterville
Drawing by © Carl Luer and The Swiss Orchid Foundation at the Jany Renz Herbaria Website
Postage stamp by Venezuela
THROUGH
Common Name or Meaning The Short Tailed Brachionidium
Flower Size .8" [2 cm]
Found in Bolivar state of Venezuela and Mt Roraima Guyana on tepuis at elevations around 1000 to 2300 meters as a mini-miniature sized, cool to cold growing terrestrial with a stout, occasionally branching rhizome enveloped by 2, imbricating, mucronate, tubular sheaths and giving rise to slender, erect to suberect ramicauls enveloped by 2, mucronate, tubular sheaths and carrying a single, apical, erect to suberect, thinly coriaceous, elliptical, acute, apiculate, 7 veined, cuneate below into the petiolate base leaf that blooms in the fall through spring on a slender, erect, .8 to 1.2" [2 to 3 cm] long, single flowered inflorescence arising from near the apex of the ramicaul, with a thin bract near the middle and another at the base and has a mucronate, longer than the pedicel, shorter than the ovary floral bract and carrying a non-resupinate flower
"Chaacterized by the short, erect, compact habit, broadly ovate, obtuse, slightly acuminate sepals and petals, minutely ciliate petals and a unique sagittate-triangular, ciliate lip. The basal angles extend to either side of the base of the column. Although there is considerable variation in the size of the sepals and petals, the lip is relatively constant in size." Luer 1995
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Venezuelan Orchids Illustrated Vol 5 Dunsterville & Garay 1966 drawing ok; Flora de Venezuela Volumen 15 Parte 2 Foldats 1970; Orchids of Venezuela [An illustrated field guide] Vol. 1 Dunsterville & Garay 1979 drawing good; Venezuelan Orchids Dunsterville 1987 drawing/photo fide; Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol XII Systematics of Brachionidium Luer 1995 drawing fide; Orchids of Venezuela [An illustrated field guide] Vol. 1 Ramiro and Carnevali 2000 drawing ok; Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana Vol 7 Steyermark, Berry, Yatskievych and Holst 2003 drawing fide; LANKESTERIANA 20(2): 167. Ossenbach & Jenny 2020 collection sheet fide
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