Microchilus paleaceus (Schltr.) Ormerod 2002
Photo by Alexander Hirtz
Photo by Ecuagenera and their Ecuador Orchid Website
Photo by Andreas Kaye and his Flickr Orchid Photo Page
Drawing of Erythrodes paleaceus
Drawing of Erythrodes paleaceus by Dunsterville and Garay
Common Name or Meaning The Straw-Colored Microchilus
Flower Size .2" [5 mm]
Found in the Cauca department of Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil in rain or cloud forests at elevations of 600 to 1800 meters as a medium sized, warm to cool growing terrestrial with a decumbent rhizome giving rise to strict to substrict, terete, glabrous stem carrying 4 to 5, erect-patent, obliquely oblong-elliptic, acuminate, cuneate below into the petiolate base leaves that blooms in the spring on an erect, terminal, strict, to 8" [20 cm] long, peduncle terete, minutely glandular-puberulous, provided with 4 to 6, broad, pleaceous, acuminate, rachis 3.6" [9 cm] long, densely many flowered inflorescence with erect-patent, lanceolate, acuminate, paleaceous, slightly longer than the flowers floral bracts and carrying erect-patent flowers.
"Due to its dry-skinned, large, papery bracts and the lip shape this species is well characterized compared to others in its habitat. The lip is so sharply truncated at the front that the lateral corners are almost pointed and, with the small tip at the apex, it almost appears tricuspid." Schlechter 1920
Synonyms Erythrodes paleacea (Schltr.) Ames 1922; *Physurus paleaceus Schltr.1920
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 7: 72 Die Orchideen der Sudamerikanischen Kordillerenstaaten II Colombia Schlechter 1920 as Physurus paleaceus;
Studies in the family Orchidaceae Vol VII: 75 Ames 1922 as Erythrodes paleacea;
Venezuelan Orchids Illustrated Vol 1 Dunsterville & Garay 1959 as E major drawing ok;
Orchids of Venezuela ; An Illustrated Field Guide Vol 1 Dunsterville & Garay 1979 as Erythrodes paleacea drawing ok;
Orchids of Venezuela [An illustrated field guide] Vol. 1 Ramiro and Carnevali 2000 as Erythrodes paleacea drawing fide;
* Lindleyana 17: 219 Ormerod 2002
Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana Vol 7 Steyermark, Berry, Yatskievych and Holst 2003 as Erythrodes paleacea
Materials to the Orchid Flora of Colombia Vol 1: 322 Szlachetko & Kolanowska 2017 drawing fide;
Materials to the Orchid Flora of Colombia Vol 1: 542 pl 106 Szlachetko & Kolanowska 2017 photo fide
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