Microchilus hirtellus (Sw.) D.Dietr. 1852

Plant and Flowers in situ St LuciaPhotos by © Roger Graveson and his The Plants of Saint Lucia Webpage

Another Flower Photo by Richard GAUTIER and his Guadeloupe Orchid Website

Common Name The Bristely Microchilus

Flower Size .2" [5 mm]

Found in Cuba, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Leewards, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, the Windwards, Fr Guiana, Guyana and Surinam? in damp areas in woodlands at elevations of 750 to 950 meters as a miniature to small sized, warm growing terrestrial with a slender, sparsely pilose stem carrying below, 5 to 8, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, acute, gradually narrowing below into the rather elongate, petiolate base leaves that blooms in the winter and spring on an erect, hairy, 1.2 to 2.4" [3 to 6 cm] long, densely many flowered inflorescence with lanceolate, acuminate, sparsely pilose floral bracts.

Synonyms Erythrodes hirtella (Sw.) Fawc. & Rendle 1910; Habenaria hirtella (Sw.) Spreng. 1826; Orchis hirtella (Sw.) Sw. 1800; Physurus hirtellus (Sw.) Lindl. 1840; *Satyrium hirtellum Sw. 1788

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Flora of Jamaica Fawcett & Rendle 1910 as Erythrodes hirtella drawing hmmish; Flore Descriptive des Antilles Francaises H. Stehle 1939 as Erythrodes hirtella; Native Orchids of Trinidad Schultes 1960 as Erythrodes hirtella; Flora of the Lesser Antilles Garay & Sweet 1974 as Erythrodes hitella drawing fide; An Orchid Flora Of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands Ackerman 1995 as Erythrodes hirtella drawing fide;

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