Lepanthes spiculifera Thoerle & Hirtz 2015 SECTION Lepanthes SUBSECTION Lepanthes SERIES Elongatae 1993
Leaf and Flower Photos by © Alexander Hirtz
TYPE Drawing by © Lisa Thoerle and Phytotaxa 201 (1) 58 © Thoerle & Hirtz 2015
LATER
Common Name The Point Carrying Lepanthes [refers to the acute apice to the sepals]
Flower Size .08" [2 mm]
Found in Zamora Chinchipe province of Ecuador at elevations around 1000 meters as a mini-mniature sized, warm to cool growing epiphyte with erect to suberect ramicauls enveloped by 8 to 9, ribbed, lepanthiform sheaths with the ribs and dilated ostia minuely spiculate and carrying a single, apical, erect to nearly horizontal, thinly coriaceous, elliptical, triapiculate apically, cuneate below into the petiolate base leaf that blooms in the later spring on 1 to 3, suberect to more or less horizontal to arching, peduncle filliform, .32 to .48" [8 to 12 mm] long, rachis 4.72 to 4.96" [11.8 to 12.2 cm] long, elongating, loose, flexuous, successively single, to 20 flowered inflorescence with minutely verrucose, ostia dilated, minutely spiculate, acuminate, shorter to as long as the pedicel floral bracts.
"Lepanthes spiculifera bears small, mostly yellow flowers appearing singly and sequentially on a gradually lengthening raceme that can eventually reach a length of 5.2" [13 cm] or more. The apex of the pedicel and the ribs of the ovary are blunt-spiculate; blunt-spiculate carinae mark the veins on the exterior of the sepals; the sparsely blunt-spiculate ovate dorsal sepal is concave; the single-veined lateral sepals are narrowly ovate-triangular with notably blunt-spiculate margins; the upper lobe of the pubescent petals is oblong, the lower lobe is obliquely, obtusely triangular; and the lip is pubescent with ciliate margins, cordate, with ill-defined blades embracing the column. The Venezuelan Lepanthes zettleri , may be the most similar to L. spiculifera, with an elongated raceme bearing flowers of a superficially similar shape, with single-veined lateral sepals and a lip with weakly developed blades. Lepanthes zettleri lacks the unusual pedicels with a blunt-spiculate apex, and the larger flowers have sepals .16 to .2" [4 to 5 mm] long, with smooth margins; glabrous petals; and a subquadrate lip only shortly pubescent." Thoelr & Hortz 2015
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Phytotaxa 201 (1) 59 © Luer & Thoerle 2015 Drawing/photo fide
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