Teagueia zeus (Luer & Hirtz) Luer 2007
Photos by © Lourens Grobler
TYPE Drawing by Carl Luer
Common Name or Meaning Zeus' Teaugeia [Greek God of Gods - refers to the size]
Flower Size 3" top to bottom [7.5 cm]
Found in Pastaza province of Ecuador in cloud forests at elevations around 2400 meters as a miniature sized, cold growing epiphyte with erect ramicauls enveloped basally by 2 to 3 thin, ribbed, imbricating sheaths and carrying a single, apical, erect, coriaceous, elliptic-ovate, undulate margins, subacute to obtuse, gradually narrowing below into the elongate, cuneate, petiolate base leaf that blooms in the winter on an erect to suberect, distantly, successively few flowered, 3.2 to 5.2" [8 to 13 cm] long including the 2 to 2.8" [5 to 7 cm] long peduncle, racemose inflorescence arising laterally from the ramicaul with thin, shorter than teh ovary floral bracts.
"For the genus the leaves are large with undulate margins and long-petiolate. The flowers are huge for the genus, 3" [7.5 cm] between the tips of the tails of the dorsal and lateral sepals and borne distantly in a few flowered raceme. The sepals are ciliate and shortly pubescent, the petals, small and suorbicular, and the lip is oblong, pubescent and channeled with the basal lobes embracing the column." Luer 1990
Synonyms *Platystele zeus Luer & Hirtz 1990
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol VII Systematics of Platystele Luer 1990 as Platystele zeus drawing fide;
Native Ecuadorian Orchids Vol 5 Dodson 2004 photo fide;
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