Elleanthus scharfii Dodson 1994

TYPE Drawing by © Dodson and The Epidendra Website

Part shade Cool Fall

Common Name Scarf's Elleanthus [American Coronel US Army, Birder and discover of species current]

Flower Size .24" [6 mm]

Found in Napo province of Ecuador at elevations around 1100 meters as a small sized, cool growing epiphyte with cane-like, arcuate, elongate, unbranched, basally leafless stems carrying in the apical half, 5 to 7, or on fertile stems 1 to 2 or none, stiff, plicate, prominently 7 veined, distichous, narrowly ovate-elliptic, long-acuminate, sessile leaves that blooms in the fall on a terminal, ariding on leafless to 2 leaved stems, cylindrical, subdensely few flowered inflorescence with cymbiform, acute, as long as the ovary, green floral bracts and carrying completely green flowers

This species is in a small group within the genus that has lateral inflorescence arising on leafless fertile stems. These include E escobarii, E hirtzii and E lateralis.

"Similar to E stenophyllus but differs in the subquadrate lip wuth a truncate apex with anirregularly denticulate margin versus in E stenophyllus a lip that is bilobed in front with an irregular lacerate-dentate margin. The leaves of E scharfii are 4 x .4" vs E stenophyllus that has leaves 4.8 to 6.8" x .28" [12 to 17 x .7 cm], the lip is .48 x .3" [12 x 7.5 mm] versus .24 x .16" [6 x 4 mm] and the sepals and ovary are glabrous versus furfuraceous." Szlatchetko & Kolanowska

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;

*Orquideologia Vol 19 #2 pg 137-139 Dodson 1994 Drawing fide;

Native Ecuadorian Orchids Vol 2 Dodson 2001 drawing fide;

Flora of Ecuador No 87 225[3] Orchidaceae Dodson & Luer 2010 drawing fide;

Materials to the Orchid Flora of Colombia Vol IV:321 Szlatchetko & Kolanowska 2023 drawing fide

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