Prescottia oligantha [Sw.] Lindley 1840
Photo by © Ricardo Valentine de la Rosa and Ricardo's Blog Puerto Rico
Photos by © Eric Hunt
Photo by Dale and Deni Borders
Drawing Drawing by © von Martius, Eichler, Urban © and Wikimedia website
to 
Common Name The Sparse-Blooming Prescotia
Flower Size 1/16" [1.6 mm]
Found in Florida, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, Bahamas, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Cayman, Leewards, Puerto Rico, Trinidad & Tobago, Windwards, Guyana, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Galapagos, Peru, Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina at elevations of 685 to 2400 meters in deep shade under trees in hammocks or forests as a miniature to medium sized, warm to cool growing, inconspicuous terrestrial with 2 to 3 ovate to suborbicular, acute, shortly petiolate base leaves that blooms n February in Florida, March to May in Cuba on an erect, terminal, glabrous, purpley, slender, 16" [40 cm] long, densely many flowered inflorescence with lanceolate, acuminate, concave, spreading floral bracts with up to 50 non-resupinate flowers.
"Similar to Prescottia gracilis Schltr. 1920 but oit differs by the obscure basal lip auricles, a lip form that is subglbose in outline, slightly thickened and densely covered the center by relativeloy stiff, ampoullaceous hairs versus The inner surface of the lip of P oligantha is at most shortly papillate
Synonyms Cranichis micrantha Sprengel 1826; *Cranichis oligantha Sw. 1788; Prescottia micrantha (Spreng.) Lindl. 1836; Prescottia microrhiza Barb.Rodr.1877; Prescotia myosurus Rchb.f ex Griseb. 1864; Prescottia nivalis Barb.Rodr.1882; Prescotia panamensis Schlechter 1920; Prescotia polysphaera Schlechter 1920; Prescottia pubescens Barb.Rodr. 1877; Prescotia tenuis Lindley 1840; Prescottia viacola Barb. Rodr. 1881; Prescotia viacola var polyphylla Cogn. 1906; Serapias pumila Vellozo 1827;
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
Prodr. Veg. Ind. Occ.: 120 Sw. 1788 as Cranichis oligantha
Syst. Veg., ed. 16. 3: 700 Spreng 1826 as Cranichis micrantha nom. superfl.
Edwards's Bot. Reg. 22: t. 1916 Lindley 1836 as Prescottia micrantha
* Gen. Sp. Orchid. Pl.: 454 Lindley 1840
Gen. Sp. Orchid. Pl.: 454 Lindley 1840as P tenuis;
Fl. Brit. W. I.: 640 Rchb.f ex Griseb. 1864 as Prescotia myosurus
Gen. Spec. Orchid. 1: 179 Barb Rodr. 1877 as P microrhizza
Gen. Spec. Orchid. 1: 178 Barb Rodr. 1877 as P pubescens
Gen. Spec. Orchid. 2: 278 Barb Rodr. 1882 as P nivalis
P> Gen. Spec. Orchid. 2: 279 Barb Rodr. 1882 as P viacola;
Fl. Bras. 3(6): 549 Cogniaux 1906 as P viacola var polyphylla
Symbolae Antillanae Vol VI: 355 Orchidaceae Urban 1909 as Cranichis tenuiflora;
Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 16: 357 Schelchter 1920 as P panamensis Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 16: 357 Schelchter 1920 as P polysphaera Flore Descriptive des Antilles Francaises H. Stehle 1939;
Flora Brasilica Vol XII II: 108 Hoehne 1945 as P micrantha
Flora Brasilica Vol XII II: Illustrations tab 72 fig II tab 73 fig I & II Hoehne 1945 as P micrantha drawing ok; Flora Brasilica Vol XII II: 109 Hoehne 1945 as P microrhiza;
Flora Brasilica Vol XII II: tab 71 fig II Illustrations Hoehne 1945 as P microrhiza drawing good;
Flora Brasilica Vol XII II: 104 Hoehne 1945 as P nivalis;
Flora Brasilica Vol XII II: tab 66 fig II Illustrations Hoehne 1945 as P nivalis drawing ok;
Flora Brasilica Vol XII II: 115 Hoehne 1945 as P panamensis
Flora Brasilica Vol XII II: 106 Hoehne 1945 as P pubescens;
Flora Brasilica Vol XII II: tab 71 fig I Illustrations Hoehne 1945 as P pubescens drawing fide;
The Orchids of Panama: 40 L.O. Williams & P Allen 1946 drawing good;
AOS Bulletin Vol 31 #8 1962 photo fide;
AOS Bulletin Vol 33 #8 1964 as Prescottia tenuis;
Venezuelan Orchids Illustrated Vol 4 Dunsterville & Garay 1966 drawing hmm;
Flora de Venezuela Volumen XV Primera Parte Foldats 1969 drawing fide;
Flora de Venezuela Foldats Volumen XV Part 1 1969 drawing hmm;
Fieldiana Biology, Vol 33, 1st Supple. to the Orchids of Peru: 4 Schweinfurth 1970; The Native Orchids of Florida Luer 1972 drawing fide;
Flora of the Lesser Antilles: 57 Garay & Sweet 1974 Flora of the Lesser Antilles: 62 Garay & Sweet 1974drawing ok;
Orchidaceae Brasilenses Band 1 Pabst & Dungs 1975 drawing ok;
Orchidaceae Brasilenses Band 1 Pabst & Dungs 1975 as P microrhiza drawing ok;
Orchidaceae Brasilenses Band 1 Pabst & Dungs 1975 as P nivalis drawing fide;
Flora of Ecuador No 9 225[1] Garay 1978 drawing good;
Orchids of Venezuela, An Illustrated Field Guide Vol 3 Dunsterville & Garay 1979 drawing hmm; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum Plate 1262 Dodson 1985 drawing ok;
An Orchid Flora of Peurto Rico and the Virgin Islands Ackerman 1995 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum Peruviarum Plate 557 Bennett & Christenson 1998 drawing fide; Orchids of Venezuela [An illustrated field guide] Vol. 3 Ramiro and Carnevali 2000 drawing hmm; Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana Vol 7 Steyermark, Berry, Yatskievych and Holst 2003 drawing ok; Manual de Plantas de Costa Rica Vol 3 Hammel, Grayum, Herrera and Zamora 2003; Orchidaceae Antillanae Nir 2000; The Orchids of Cuba Llamacho & Larramendi 2005 photo fide;
Orchid Genera and Species in Guatemala Archila, Szlachchetko, Chiron, Lipinska, Mystkowska and Bertolini 2018;
Materials to the Orchid Flora of Colombia Vol 2: 93 Szlachetko & Kolanowska 2019 drawing fide
Orquideas de Farallones de Cali Galindo-Tarazona, Haelterman, Zuluaga Trochez and Sebastian Moreno 2020 photo fide; Vanishing Beauty, Native Costa Rican Orchids Vol 2 Lacaena to Pteroglossa Pupulin 2020 photo fide
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