Myoxanthus aciculifolius Luer 2009 SUBGENUS Myoxanthus SECTION Myoxanthus Luer 1992

TYPE Drawing by © Carl Luer and Selbyana 30: 54 Luer & Escobar 2009

Common Name The Acicular Leaved Myoxanthus [refers to the needle-like leaves]

Flower Size .2" [5 mm]

Found in El Oro province Ecuador at elevations around 500 meters as a mini-miniature sized, hot to warm growing epiphyte with an erect, slender ramicaul enveloped by 2 to 3, loose, tubular sheaths with brown pubescence towards the base and carrying a single, apical, suberect, coriaceous, narrowly linear, acute leaf that blooms in the fall on top of the leaf, peduncle .04 to .08" [1 to 2 mm] long, single flowered inflorescence with shorter than the pedicel floral bracts.

"Luer (2009) described the narrow, needle-like leaves of this species as unique in the genus. However, similar leaves are now also known to be found in M. sotoanus, described in 2010. This species is similar to M. scandens and M. pennellius, but M. aciculifolius is distinguished by the long-ciliate margins of the middle lobe of the lip." Rojas-Alvarado, Blanco, & Karremans 2021

The free sepals and narrowly ovate petals are not remarkable, but the lip is distinctive. The apex is broadly rounded with long cilia around the margin; and below the middle, a proportionately large, antrorse, uncinate lobe is present on both margins." Luer & Hirtz 2009

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Selbyana 30: 16 Luer & Escobar 2009 Drawing fide; A taxonomic synopsis and morphological characterization of Myoxanthus (Orchidaceae: Pleurothallidinae) Gustavo Rojas-Alvarado, Mario A. Blanco, A. P. Karremans 2021

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