Lepanthes scolex Luer 1986

SUBGENUS Lepanthes SECTION Lepanthes SUBSECTION Breves Luer 1986 SERIES Breves Luer 1996

Drawing by © Dunsterville and Garay

LATER

Common Name The Tapeworm-Like Lepanthes [refers to the appendix shape]

Flower Size .12" [3mm]

Found in Trujillo state of Venezuela in rain forests at elevations around 2000 meters as a mini-miniature sized, cool to cold to cool growing, caespitose epiphyte with erect, slender ramicauls enveloped by 5 to 7, close-fitting, lepanthiform sheaths and carrying a single, apical, erect, coriaceous, elliptical, acute, cuneate below into the petiolate base leaf that blooms in the later summer on an erect, peduncle filiform, .4" [1 cm] long, rachis .6" [1.5 cm] long, subdense, successively single, few flowered inflorescence holding the flowers 3/4 way towards the apex of the leaf and carrying flowers with pale translucent brown, sepals, glandular-cellular bright yellow, the upper lobe suffused with red petals and a bright red lip.

"This species was identified in Venezuelan Orchids Illustrated as L. acuminata from the northern part of Central America. Although superficially similar, the Central American species may be distinguished from this Venezuelan species by the narrower, twice longer, entire sepals, proportionately larger petals, and a very small, triangular appendix." Luer 1986

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Venezuelan Orchids Vol 4 Dunsterville & Garay 1966 as L acuminata drawing fide; Orchids of Venezuela An Illustrated Field Guide Vol 2 Dunsterville & Garay 1979 as L acuminata drawing fide; * Phytologia 59: 450 Luer 1986; drawing fide; Orchids of Venezuela [An illustrated field guide] Vol. 2 Ramiro and Carnevali 2000 drawing fide

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