Habenaria lankesteri Ames 1923 SECTION Leptoceras

Type Drawing by © C Lankester and The Swiss Orchid Foundation at the Jany Renz Herbaria

Common Name Lankester's Habenaria [American Botanist in Costa Rica 1900's]

Flower Size .32" [8 mm]

Found in Belize and Costa Rica in cloud forests at elevations of 1000 to 2400 meters as a miniature to small sized, cool to cold growing terrestrial with an erect stem carrying approximate, more or less basal, narrowly elliptic-oblong, gradually narrowing at both ends, acute, obliquely ascending, 2 well developed, the others grading smaller to bracts above leaves that blooms in the winter on a terminal, erect, 1.2 to 1.6" [3 to 4 cm] long, 5 to more flowered inflorescence with adpressed, lanceolate, acuminate, just shorter than the ovary floral bracts and carrying pale green flowers.

Allied to H repens but differs in the structure of the labellum and petals.

Synonyms Habenaria brenesii Schltr. 1923

References W3 Tropicos,Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;

* Sched. Orch. 4: 2. Ames 1923;

Repert. Sp. Nov. Regni. Veg. Beih. 19: 159 Costa Rica Schlechter 1923 as H brenesii;

Field Guide to the Orchids of Panama and Costa Rica Dressler 1993;

Manual de Plantas de Costa Rica Vol III Hammel, Grayum, Herrera and Zamora 2003 drawing fide

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