Microchilus debilis (Lindl.) D.Dietr. 1852

Drawing by © Hoehne

Drawing

Collection sheet by © Ames The Filibot Flickr Website

to

Common Name The Weak Microchilus

Flower Size .24" [6 mm]

Found in Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and northeastern Argentina as a small sized, warm to cool growing terrestrial with a thin, almost filiform, basally creeping, becoming erect stem carrying ovate, obtuse, glabrous, pale green, 7 to 9 nerved, gradually narrowing below into the short pseudo-petiolate base leaves that blooms on an erect, to 1.2" [3 cm] long, terminal, subdensely, 12 to 15 flowered inflorescence with ovate-lanceolate, acute, glabrous, almost twice as long as the ovary floral bracts.

"Similar to and possibly closely related to M querceticolus but can be easily separated by the lip form. The hypochile of M debilis is elliptic to deltoid, with an obscure 4 lobed thickening at the apex versus a deltoid to transversely elliptic-rhombic, ecallose hypochile. The epichile of M debilis is triangular to sagittate, and obtuse to shallowly nothched at the apex versus deltoid-sagittate in outline, long attenuate towards the apex, and acute to subacute, as well as the pedicel to ovary ratio which in M debilis is as long as the ovary and in M querceticolus it is subsessile." Szlachetko & Kolanowska 2017

Synonyms Aspidogyne debilis (Lindl.) Meneguzzo 2012; Erythrodes debilis (Lindl.) Ames 1922; *Physurus debilis Lindl. 1840; Physurus debilis var. major Warm. 1884; Physurus macer Hoehne & Schltr. 1926; Platythelys debilis (Lindl.) Garay 1977

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;

Gen. Sp. Orchid. Pl.: 503 Lindley 1840 as Physurus debilis

* Syn. Plant. 5: 166 D Dietr 1852

Symb. Fl. Bras. Centr. 30: 858 Warm. 1884 as Physurus debilis var. major

Studies in the family Orchidaceae Vol VII: 70 Ames 1922 as Erythrodes debilis;

Arch. Bot. São Paulo 1: 196 Hoehne & Schltr. 1926 as Physurus macer

Flora Brasilica Vol XII II 13-43: 364 Hoehne 1945 as Physurus debilis;

Flora Brasilica Vol XII II 13-43: 364 Hoehne 1945 as Physurus debilis var major;

Flora Brasilica Vol XII II 13-43: 365 Hoehne 1945 as Physurus

Flora Brasilica Vol XII II 13-43: tab 201 fig 2 Hoehne 1945 as Physurus macer drawing good;

Iconographia de Orchidaceae Do Brasil Hoehne 1949 as Physurus macer;

Orchidaceae Brassilensis Band 1: 131 Pabst & Dungs 1975

Orchidaceae Brassilensis Band 1: 286 fig 505 Pabst & Dungs 1975 Drawing lip and tepals ok as Erythrodes debilis;

Bradea 2: 197 Garay 1977 as Platythelys debilis

Orquidário 26: 89 Meneguzzo 2012 as Aspidogyne debilis

Materials to the Orchid Flora of Colombia Vol 1: 374 Szlachetko & Kolanowska 2017 as Platythelys debilis drawing fide;

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