Microchilus grayumii (Ormerod) E.C.Smidt & M.W.Chase 2021

TYPE Drawing of Aspidogyne grayumii by © Ormerod and The Epidendra Website

Common Name Grayum's Microchilus [American Collector of species current]

Flower Size .12" [3 mm]

Found in Puntarenas province of Costa Rica on forested slopes at elevations of 1100 to 1200 meters as a small sized, cool growing terrestrial with an erect, terete stem carrying 5 to 7, sub rosulate, obliquely ovate-elliptic, acute to subacuminate, upper surface spotched with squarish milky green, petiolate base leaves that blooms in the winter on an erect, pubescent, pinkish, 11" [27.5 cm] long, peduncle 5.25" [13.1 cm] long, 3 lax sheaths, rachis 6" [15 cm] long, densely many flowered inflorescence with lanceolate, acute floral bracts.

"This species is similar to M tuerckheimii but it differs in having tessel- lated leaves, flowers with a labellum hypochile that has free triangular apices and an late obovate epichile. In M tuerckheimii the leaves are plain green, the flowers have a hypochile that lacks free tips and the epichile is transversely elliptic. Another similar species is M utriculata which also has tessellated leaves but its flowers have a larger .12" [3.5 mm] long spur, obliquely ovate-lanceolate petals and a labellum in which the hypochile appears to be poorly differentiated from the epichile. Also M stictophylla is very similar to A. grayumii but it may be distin- guished by its ovate to ovate-lanceolate leaves which are green and usually spotted with white." Ormerod 2007

Synonyms *Aspidogyne grayumii Ormerod 2007

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;

Harvard Pap. Bot. 11: 147, NEOTROPICAL GOODYERINAE (ORCHIDACEAE) 2 Ormerod 2007 as Aspidogyne grayumii drawing fide;

Manual De Plants De Costa Rica Vol III Hammel, Grayum, Herrera and Zamora 2003 as Erythrodes sp

* Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 197: 340 E.C.Smidt & M.W.Chase 2021 2

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