Stelis opimipetala Luer & Hirtz 2004 SECTION Stelis
Drawing by Carl Luer
LATE 
Common Name The Fat Petaled Stelis
Flower Size .24" [6 mm]
Found in Zamora-Chinchipe, Pastaza, Bolivar and Morona-Santiago provinces of Ecuador at elevations around 1150 to 1650 meters as a mini-miniature sized, cool growing, caespitose epiphyte with erect, stout ramicauls enveloped by 2 loose, tubular sheaths and carrying a single, apical, erect, thickly coriaceous, broadly elliptical, obtuse, cuneate below into the petiolate base leaf that blooms in the late spring, summer and fall on an erect to suberect, arising from the apex of the ramicaul, loose, flexuous, to 1.2" [3 cm] long including the .4" [1 cm] long peduncle, successively 1 to 2, few flowered inflorescence with oblique, acute, shorter than the ovary floral bracts and carrying expanded rose colored flowers with densely ciliate sepals.
"Characterized by a loose, flexuousm few flowered raceme that approaches the length of the elliptical leaves. The flowers are proportionally larg with broad, obtuse, finely ciliated sepals and broad, flat, kidney shaped petals that overlap above the column. The sheild shaped lip is flat anteriorly and obtuse witha pubescent callus on the dorsum."
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
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