Stelis viridibrunnea F.Lehm. & Kraenzl. 1899 SECTION Stelis
Photo by © Byron Rinke
Drawing by © Carl Luer
Common Name The Purplish Brown Stelis
Flower Size .2" [5 mm]
Found in Loja province of Ecuador at elevations of 2600 to 2800 meters as a miniature sized, cold growing, caespitose epiphyte with erect slender ramicauls enveloped by a loose, tubular sheath and 2 others below and carrying a single, apical, erect, coriaceous, narrowly elliptical, subacute to obtuse, cuneate below in tothe petiolate base leaf that blooms on an erect, arising from an annulus below the apex of the ramicaul, with several distant bracts, slender, laxly, to 10.4" [ to 26 cm] long including the 5.6" [14 cm] long peduncle, mostly simultaenosuly several flowered inflorescence with tubular, acute, as long as to shorter than the ovary floral bracts and carrying cream colored, glabrous flowers with shortly ciliated margins and a yellow with purple margin central apparatus.
Often cited as a synonym of S major but differs in the narrower leaves, the proportionally shorter, loose, several flowered raceme bourne by a three times longer peduncle and flowers that are about 1/2 the size.
CAUTION I am not convinced that the photo is correctly identified so please use with caution!! The Drawing is more likely correct.
Synonyms Stelis procera Luer 2002
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
* Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 26: 448 F Lehm. & Kraenzl. 1899;
Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol XXIV A First Century of Stelis of Ecuador Luer 2002 as S procera
Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol XXIV A First Century of Stelis of Ecuador Luer 2002 as S procera drawing fide;
Native Ecuadorian Orchids Vol 5 Dodson 2004 as S major photo ok but shows veins;
Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol XXX Lepanthes of Jamaica Stelis of Ecuador Part IV Luer 2009
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