Brachionidium escobarii Luer 1986

TYPE Drawing by © Dalstroem and The Epidendra Orchid Website

Common Name or Meaning Escobar's Brachionidium [Colombian Orchid Enthusiast early 2000's]

Flower Size .4" [1 cm]

Found in Nariño department of southern Colombia on damp road embankments at elevations around 3200 meters as a mini-miniature sized, cold growing terrestrial with a repent, occasionally branching rhizome enveloped by 2 to 3, glabrous, loosely fitting sheaths and giving rise to erect ramicauls enveloped by 2, similar sheaths and carrying a single, apical, erect, thickly coriaceous, purple suffused, elliptical, acute, mucronate, cuneate below into the petiolate base leaf that blooms in the summer on a slender, erect, bright purple, .4 to .48" [10 to 12 mm] long, single flowered inflorescence arising from near the apex of the ramicaul, with 2 basal bracts and an inflated, oblique, shorter than teh ovary floral bract.

"Distinguished by the minute habit, a horizontally creeping rhizome with an erect ramicaul and a thick, little, elliptical leaf about every .12 to .2" [3 to 5 mm], proportionally large flowers, larger than the leaf, shortl;y acuminate, glabrous sepals and petals and a three lobed lip with acute lateral bobes and an acuminate, bicallous, apical lobe." Luer 1993

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Lindleyana 1: 172. Luer 1986; Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol XII Systematics of Brachionidium Luer 1995 drawing fide; Orchids, A Colombian Treasure Vol 1 Ortiz & Uribe 2014 drawing fide

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