Habenaria flexuosa Lindl. 1835 SECTION Pentadactylae Urban
Photos by © Edouard Faria
Drawing by © J. R. González T. and Las Orquideas del Occidente de Mexico Vol 1: 219 Jorge Roberto González Tamayo y Lizbeth Hernández Hernández 2010
LATER
EARLY
Common Name The Flexuous Habenaria
Flower Size
Found in Chiapas, Jalisco, Michoacán, Morelos and Oaxaca states of Mexico among grass in ravines or slopes of open holm oak trees, pine and oak forest in volcanic rocky soils or in humid mesophilic forests at elevations around 1500 to 2600 meters as a medium to large sized, cool to cold growing terrestrial with an ovoid to oblong, subterranean tuber giving rise to a subcylindrical, naked in the basal part, thin stem carrying to 5 to 8 elliptic to lanceolate, progressively larger to the middle of the stem, then smaller above, ascending to extending, acute leaves taht blooms in the later summer and early fall on an erect, racemose, to 4” [10 cm] long, 6 to 7 flowered inflorescence with conduplicate, longer than the ovary floral bracts.
"Habenaria flexuosa is related to H. ibarrae but differ by the slender plants, the erect leaves with a very small blade; the dorsal sepal is underextended, tricariate; the column subsquare in ventral view and the underextended stigmatic processes. Habenaria flexuosa is more closely related to H. calicis but in the latter the dorsal sepal does not contract in the apical part and the subobtuse lateral sepals are less attenuated, the nectary is as long as the ovary, a little dilated in the distal part; the very arched back of the column and the stimatic processes underextended. The habit of both species is similar, although in H. calicis the tuber and roots are pubescent. The column of Habenaria flexuosa resembles Habenaria nogeirana and is practically the same size, but differs in the disposition of stigmatic processes and in the single viscide.
As for the foliage, H. flexuosa lacks the approximate and spread basal leaves that are characteristic of H. filifera and H. atrata through the channels of the anther and arms of the rostellum convergents, as well as by the combined viscidia , they seem to represent the halfway point between the habenarias with the arms of the rostellum and the channels of the anther antrorse, with two viscides and those that produce a unique viscide and the anther channels Converging. Habenaria flexuosa and H. diffusa are related but the two species are well distinguished, and are not close to each other. In the first one, the nectary is hanging and the emerald green flowers are larger and floral parts are leathery; in the second one the spur is retrorse, perpendicular to the rachis, the light green or yellowish-green flowers are smaller, and the anterior lobe of the petals exceeds the posterior lobe in length, the lateral lobes of the labellum are larger than the middle lobe and the two viscidia merge into one piece." Jorge Roberto González Tamayo y Lizbeth Hernández Hernández 2010
Synonyms Bonatea flexuosa Lindl. 1835
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Studies in the Family Orchidaceae Vol 4 Ames 1910;
Orquideas del Estado de Morelos ORQUÍDEA (MÉX.) VOLUMEN 16 NÚMERO ÚNICO enero 2002 drawing fide/photo ok;
Las Orquideas del Occidente de Mexico Vol 1: 219 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
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