Cranichis ovata Wikstrom 1827

Plant and Flower in Situ St Lucia

Photos by © Roger Graveson and his The Plants of Saint Lucia Webpage

DrawingDrawing by © Nir

Common Name The Ovate Cranichis

Flower Size .2" [5 mm]

Found in the Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Dominica, St Lucia and Grenada in semi-open and shady spots in lower montane rainforest, especially along forest paths at elevations aropund 100 meters as a small sized, hot to warm growing terrestral with to 4, basal, distally decreasing in size, ovate-cordate, acute leaves that blooms with leaf-like sheaths and terminating in a successively several, densely many flowered inflorescence with lanceolate, to linear-lanceolate, acuminate, as long as the ovary floral bracts carrying diaphonous, non-resupinate flowers.

Distinguished by the ovate-cordate to triangular-cordate leaves [C muscosa has elliptic to ovate elliptic leaves], the much smaller flowers [.4" in C muscosa] an almost orbicular lip [C muscosa has a lip that is longer than broad].

CAUTION I have no way of verifying this determination so please use with caution

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Flora of the Lesser Antilles Garay & Sweet 1974; Orchidaceae Antillanae Nir 2000 drawing ok to photo fide to drawing;

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