Cranichis ricartii Ackerman 1989
Photo by © Dr Juan Ricart and The Flora de Nuestros Pueblos Website
TYPE Drawing by © Ackerman and Lindleyana 4: 43 Ackerman 1989
Common Name or Meaning Ricart's Cranichis [Dr Juan Ricart Puerto Rican Orchid Enthusiast current] ]
Flower Size .04" [1 mm]
Found in Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and the Leeward Islands in moist serpentine scrub forests at elevations of 450 to 750 meters as a small sized, hot to warm growing terrestrial with several, basal, erect, green, ovate to broadly elliptic, obtuse, petiolate base leaves that blooms in the fall and winter on an erect, terminal, scapose, glabrous below, glandular-pubescent above, peduncle with tubular-lanceolate bracts partially sheathing the stem, to 6.8" [17 cm] long, rachis to 4" [10 cm] long, Many flowered inflorescence with ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, glandular-pubescent floral bracts and carrying non-resupinate, small flowers that superficially resemble Prescottia oligantha but differs by the short clawed labellum which lacks conspicuous basal auricles, by the green sepals which are not connate and their tips do not curl and a less congested inflorescence.
"Although C ricartii superficially resembles a Prescottia I have placed it in Cranichis because its poillinaria are typical of the genus. Both genera are Cranichidinae but the Prescottia alliance have powdery pollinia which readily break apart into roughly equally sized units [probably tetrad] The pollinia of Cranichis and related genera are more durable and will break into irregular chunks, units obviusly composed of more than a tetrad. Cranichis fertilis is perhaps a sister species to C ricartii as both are pubescent and have fleshy cucullate lips. The presentation of the sepals and petals are similar and the perianth is mostly free. Both species have a short stout column and rostellum. Dressler noted that the pollinia are brittle and not powdery. C ricartii differs from C fertilis by the abscence of scapose leafy bracts, a clawed and entire lip, linear petals and non-cilate sepals. C ricartii superficially resembles Prescottia oligantha because the lip is deeply hooded, very fleshy, ventrally papillose and clawed, In addition both species have conspicuously winged columns. They differ in the flower color and various morphological features. The inflorescence, ovary and sepals are sparsely pubescent in C ricartii but glabrous in P oligantha. The perianth in C ricartii is free, but variously adnate and gibbous in the Prescottia. The tepals of C ricartii are not reflexed-curled and the lip lacks the fleshy auricles of P oligantha. " Ackerman 1989
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
* Lindleyana 4: 43 Ackerman 1989
An Orchid Flora Of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands Ackerman 1995 drawing fide;
Orchidaceae Antilanae Nir 2000;
Orchid Flora of the Greater Antilles Ackerman 2014 drawing fide
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