Habenaria xochitliae R.González 2004 publ. 2006 SECTION Clypeatae

TYPE Drawing by X M Cuevas F and Las Orquideas del Occidente de Mexico Vol 1 Jorge Roberto González Tamayo y Lizbeth Hernández Hernández 2010

LATE

Common Name The Varigated Habenaria [The epithet alludes to the bundle of leaves with two-color lines]

Flower Size

Found in Jalisco state of Mexico in pine forest clearings and open oak or holm oak forest, on yellow or original rocky volcanic soil, among grasses at elevations of 500 to 2100 meters as a small sized, warm to cold growing terrestrial with pendulous, wilted or absent at flowering, small for plant size, subspherical, ovoid or ellipsoid tuber giving rise to an erect, leafy throughout stem carrying 7 to 9, cauline, leathery, rough to the touch, basal with lamina absent or very reduced, when ascending well developed, erect or extended, the widest ones located in the middle part, the upper erect or adpressed, somewhat conduplicate, generally lanceolate, longer and narrow; the arched blade, with the apex recurved, elliptical to ovate, subobtuse, obtuse or acuminate, mucronate, .36 to 2" [9 to 50 mm] long, .2 to .72" [5 to 18 mm] wide, light green, opaque, trinerved, with some supplementary nerves, the main nerves elevated into carinas decurrent in the sheath, the carinas hyaline, with denticulated margined leaves that bloooms in the late summer on an erect, terminal, peduncle angular, 1 to 2.8" [2.5 to 7 cm] long, 1.12 to 1.4" [2.8 to 3.5 cm] in diameter overall, held in a somewhat lax to lightly dense cylindrical or semi-cylindrical cluster 4 to 12 flowered inflorescence with erect or adpressed, imbricate, conduplicate, crooked, asymmetrical, the base short, cuneate, triangular to lanceolate, acuminate, .64 to 1.4" [16 to 35 mm] long, .28 to .4" [7 to 10 mm] wide, light green, with three branched, main veins, the reticulum dense and regular, fleshy, the keel not very prominent, the margins denticulated, hyaline, longer than the ovary floral bracts.

"Habenaria xochitliae is related to H. lactiflora but it is distinguished by the opaque leaves, mostly erect or adpressed, the largest above the half; cluster not very dense; a very small arched nectary equilongate, or slightly larger than the ovary. The species resembles Habenaria socorroae , but it has a more conspicuous floral bract; the dorsal sepal is underextended; the lateral sepals lack a mucron; the nerves of the petals are devoid of transverse branches; the blade of the labellum is a little longer; the nectary in the distal part dilates only on one side, .8" [20 mm] long; the channels of the antera and the rostellum arms are slightly larger (1.75 mm long); the stigmatic processes cover about half of the blade of the rectilinear, collateral, oblique, subrombiform labellum with the attenuated sides rounded. Habenaria lactiflora has an obclaviform ovary; the anterior segment of the petals is longer than the posterior segment and the latter lacks a nail, almost as long as wide along the entire length; the longest labellum nail; the nectary longer than the ovary and is more arched, and the stigmatic processes extended, cuneate and oblong-elliptical." Jorge Roberto González Tamayo y Lizbeth Hernández Hernández 2010

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;

* Las Orquideas del Occidente de Mexico Vol 1: 179 Jorge Roberto González Tamayo y Lizbeth Hernández Hernández 2010 drawing fide;

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