Dichaea alcantarae D.E.Benn. & Christenson 1998 SECTION Dichaeopsis

Photo by © Bennett & Christenson and The Swiss Orchid Foundation at the Jany Renz Herbaria Webpage

Common Name The Alcantara Dichaea

Flower Size .4" [1 cm]

Found only in Pasco department of Peru in wet cloud forests at elevations around 2000 meters as a mini-miniature sized, cool to cold growing epiphyte with a branching, leafy stem carrying distichous, linear, conduplicate, acuminate, ascending, flat, thin leaves that blooms in the summer and fall as the leaves mature, arising from the axils of the upper leaves, persistent, single, flowered inflorescence with the pedicellate ovary less than .4" [1 cm] long and carrying somewhat campanulate, semitransluscent, dirty white flowers.

This orchid is in a complex of species with a relatively long column that is bourne parellel to the lip. It differs from the similar D ecuadorensis by the cuneate claw of the lip, the 3 nerved sepals and petals and the cilolate margined lip. D ecuardoensis has single nerved sepals and petals and a non cuneate lip without cilia on the margins.

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Icones Orchidacearum Peruviarum Plate 433 Bennett & Christtenson 1998 drawing fide; Rudolf Schlechter Die Orchideen Band 1C lieferung 44-45 pg 2763 - 2898 Brieger 2001 ; LANKESTERIANA 14(1) 2014;

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