Brachionidium jesupiae Luer 1995
Photos by Lourens Grobler ©
Drawing by © Carl Luer and The Epidendra Orchid Website
Common Name or Meaning Jesup's Brachionidium [American Female Orchid Enthuisiast and discoverer of species]
Flower Size 1.2" [3 cm]
Found in Zamora-Chinchipe province of southeastern Ecuador in cloud forests on mossy tree trunks at elevations around 1650 meters as a mini-miniature sized, cool growing epiphyte with a slender, occasionally branching rhizome enveloped by 3 close sheaths and giving rise to slender, suberect ramicauls enveloped by 2 tubular sheaths and carrying a single, apical, erect to suberect, coriaceous, elliptical, subacute, apiculate, 5 veined, cuneate below into the petiolate base leaf that blooms in the summer on a slender, erect, arising from near the apex of the ramicaul with a bract below the middle and another at the base, .44 to .55" [11 to 14 mm] long, single flowered inflorescence with a smooth, as long as the ovary floral bract and carrying a non-resupinate flower.
"Similar to Brachionidium capillare but identified bythe minute, long-creeping habit with tiny, elliptical, apiculate leaves and small very long-tailed, non-ciliate, yellow green flowers. The margin of the transverse lip is conspicuously channeled along the margins. The leaves of B capillare are round and the margin of the li is entire." Luer 1995
CAUTION!!! The photos above are most likely correct but Luer in his original description said the flowers were light yellow green and made no mention of the veining of the sepals and petals. The type drawing is absolutely correct.
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol XII Systematics of Brachionidium Luer 1995 drawing fide; Flora Of Ecuador # 76 225[2] Dodson & Luer 2005 drawing fide; Orchids of Peru Zelenko & Bermudez 2009 photo fide;
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