Habenaria clypeata Lindl. 1835 SECTION Clypeatae TYPE for the section
Photos by © Edouard Faria ©
Drawing by © Jorge Roberto González Tamayo and Las Orquideas del Occidente de Mexico Vol 1 Jorge Roberto González Tamayo y Lizbeth Hernández Hernández 2010
and EARLY
Common Name The Shield-Shaped Habenaria
Flower Size 1" [2.5 cm]
Found in the states of Sonora, Chihuahua, Durango, Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima, Michoacan, Guerrero, Mexico, Morelos, Dept Federal, Oaxaca, Pueblo, Vera Cruz, and Chiapas states of Mexico as well as Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama in grassy openings in oak and oak/pine forests at elevations of 1000 to 2700 meters as a small to medium sized, cool to cold growing terrestrial orchid with a small basal tuber giving rise to an erect stem carrying many, oblong-elliptic to lanceolate, spreading to appressed, acute to narrowly acuminate, basally clasping, articulate to the leaf sheaths and blooming in the suumer and early fall on an erect, few to 20 flowered, racemose inflorescence with ovate to lanceolate, conduplicate, acuminate, longer than the ovary floral bracts.
" Habenaria clypeata is related to H. lizbethae but it is a very slender plant; the narrowest leaves are further away from each other, the last ones not attached, the stem visible in the upper part of each internode; the more prominent and denticulated ribs of the ovary; the rostellum is acute, with less compressed arms; underextended, convex stigmatic processes, with the outer side rounded, the basal protrusion is less prominent and margins at the base of the outer side not incurved. Habenaria clypeata, H. lizbethae and H. pinzonii are all similar but they are distinguished by the habitat of the plants; shape of the leaf blade; relative length of the blade of the labellum; attenuation of the lateral sepals;the nectary longer than or equal to the ovary; absence or presence of glands of the stigmatic processes andthe curvature of the spur. Between Habenaria clypeata and H. lactiflora the following differences are found. Habenaria clypeata: Plant with very strong, close set leaves the inflorescence in a dense, cylindrical raceme; the floral bracts slightly shorter than the ovary, lanceolate; linear-cylindrical ovary, .69" [17.3 mm] long, the dorsal sepal elliptical, the widest part in the middle; the lateral sepals are oblong-ovate, rounded and emarginate, the posterior segment of the petals is short, oblique and attenuated in an acute apiculus; the parallel anterior lobe and close to the slightly shorter, acute posterior segment, about .26" [6.5 mm] long, with a rib; the labellum with the blade hidden by rectangular stigmatic processes, the lateral lobes varicated, the apices held away from the middle lobe, with a nerve; the nectary as long as the ovary, .72" [1.8 cm] long, almost straight or slightly fractiflex, the distal part half of the total length, the short, dilated stelidia on the posterior side at a transverse, elliptical apex. Habenaria lactiflora: Slender plants with leaves spaced, extended, or ascending; inflorescence rather lax; floral bract well exceeds the ovary, suddenly dilated near the base, deltoid-lanceolate; linear-obclaviform ovary, .56" [1.4 cm] long; the dorsal sepal is ovate and wider above half; the lateral sepals are ovate-lanceolate and obtuse; the petals of the posterior lobe arched strongly, acute; the anterior lobe descending, when flattened slightly longer than the posterior lobe, rounded, .332" [8.3 mm] long, with three nerves, the lateral nerves attached to the central nerve in the middle or slightly below; an obtrapeziform blade, much longer than stigmatic processes; the lateral lobes are collateral and close to the central lobe, with three nerves, lateral nerves joined together little above the breasts; strongly arched nectary, .64" [1.6 cm] long, slightly longer than the ovary, the dilated part is two thirds of the total length; the stelida are oblong, narrow and dilated at the apex." Jorge Roberto González Tamayo y Lizbeth Hernández Hernández 2010
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
* Gen. Sp. Orchid. Pl.: 311 Lindley 1835
Studies in the Family Orchidaceae Vol 4 Ames 1910
Orchids of Guatemala Ames & Correl 1952
Orchids of Guatemala Ames & Correl 1952drawing fide; ;
Drawings of Florida Orchids Blanche Ames 1959 drawing fide;
Las Orquedias De El Salvador Vol 1 Hamer 1974 as H lactiflora drawing/photo okish;
AOS Bulletin Vol 49 No 5 1979;
Orquídea (Mexico City), n.s., 7[3]: 1979;
Las Orquedias de El Salvador Vol 3 Hamer 1981 drawing fide;
Icones Planetarum Tropicarum Plate 759 Hamer 1982 drawing fide;
Flora Novo Galaciana McVaugh 1985;
Selbyana Vol 10 Orchids of Central America Hamer 1988 drawing fide;
Field Guide to the Orchids of Panama and Costa Rica Dressler 1993;
Manual de Plantas de Costa Rica Vol III Hammel, Grayum, Herrera and Zamora 2003;
Orchids of Mexico Hagsater, Soto, Salazar, Jimenez, Lopez & Dressler 2005; Las Orquideas del Occidente de Mexico Vol 1: 173 Jorge Roberto González Tamayo y Lizbeth Hernández Hernández 2010 drawing fide;
Orchid Genera and Species in Guatemala Archila, Szlachchetko, Chiron, Lipinska, Mystkowska and Bertolini 2018
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
