Habenaria pygmaea C.Schweinf. & R.E.Schult. 1954 SECTION Leptoceras

Drawing by © Dodson and The Swiss Orchid Foundation at the Jany Renz Herbaria Webpage

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Common Name The Pygmy Habenaria [refers to the size of the plant and flowers]

Flower Size .24" [6 mm]

Found in southwestern Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador in sandstone savannah within moss on sterile white sand around rocks as a mini-miniature sized, hot to warm growing litho-terrestrial with a small elliptical tuber giving rise to an erect, delicate stem carrying 2 to 4, basal, in a loose whorl, oblong-ovate to lanceolate, subacute leaves that blooms in the late spring and summer on an erect, terminal, to 1.2 to 2" [3 to 5 cm] long, laxly few to several flowered inflorescence with ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, shorter than the ovary floral bracts and carrying green flowers.

Unusual in the genus for the winged column. Closest to H hieronomyi in flowers structure but distinguished at once by its small size, its hyaline leaves borne in twos or threes at the base and the diminutive flowers usually borne singly or in pairs

Synonyms Habenaria guanchezii Carnevali & I.Ramírez 1985 publ. 1986

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;

Amer. Orchid Soc. Bull. 23: 822 C.Schweinf. & R.E.Schult. 1954

Icones Plantarum Tropicarum Plate 112 Dodson 1980 drawing fide;

Orchids from The Coast Of Ecuador Arosemana, Jurado, Estrada and Konanz 1988;

Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana Vol 7 Steyermark, Berry, Yatskievych and Holst 2003 drawing fide;

Orquideas Tesoro de Colombia Vol 2: 394 Ortiz & Uribe 2017 drawing fide;

Materials to the Orchid Flora of Colombia Vol 1: 197 Szlachetko & Kolanowska 2017 drawing fide

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