Brachionidium machupicchuense N.Salinas & Christenson 2002

HOLOTYPE Photo by Norma Salinas

Common Name or Meaning The Machu Picchu Brachionidium

Flower Size .4" [1 cm]

Found in Cusco department of central Peru at elevations of 2000 to 2300 meters as a small sized, cold growing, ascending epiphyte with rhizomes and ramicauls enveloped by tubular sheaths and carrying elliptic-lanceolate, sharply acuminate leaves that blooms on a slender, short, erect, to 1.6" [4 cm] long, single flowered inflorescence with tubular, much shorter than the threadlike pedicel and ovary and carrying a non-resupiante flower.

"Similar to Brachionidium alpestre but differs by having long-acuminate leaves, smaller flowers, sepals and petals with smooth, nonciliate margins, a five nerved synsepal and a shorter lip. In contrast B alpestre has acute, not long-acuminate leaveslarger flowers, sepals and petals minutely ciliolate, a 4 nerved synsepal and a lip proportionally about twice as long as that of B machupicchuense." Christenson 2002

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * AOS Bulletin Vol 71 # 8 2002 photo fide; Arnaldoa 12: 56. Beccara 2005 ; AOS Bulletin Vol 76 No 12 2007

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