Lepanthes ancylopetala Dressler 1959 SUBGENUS Lepanthes SECTION Lepanthes SUBSECTION Lepanthes SERIES Lepanthes

Photo by © Miguel Soto

TYPE Drawing

TYPE Drawing by © R Jimenez and El Genero Lepanthes Sw. En Mexico Salazar & Soto 1996

LATE EARLY

Common Name The Doubled Petal Lepanthes [refers to the sigmoid shape of the petal]

Flower Size .1” [2.5 mm]

Found in Chiapas state of Mexico and Guatemala as a branch epiphyte in lower perenial forests at elevations around 800 to 1000 meters as mini-miniature sized, warm growing epiphyte with ascending, arcuate ramicauls enveloped by 3 to 7 lepanthiform sheaths and carrying a single, apical, elliptic to narrowly elliptic, acute to subacute rarely obtuse, dark green above and green-purple beneath, apically tridentate, shortly petiolate base leaf that blooms in the late spring and early summer on up to 7 per ramicaul, only one per season per ramicaul, 1/2 the length of the leaf, on the back side of the leaf, peduncle terete, .12 to .48” [3 to 12 mm] long overall, rachis distichous, subcongested, successively 1 at a time, to 15 flowered inflorescence with obliquely infundibuliform, acuminate-mucronate, membraneous-scarious, carinate, ciliate on the margin and the ostia, ovate floral bracts.

"The species is recognized by the reddish flowers, the mini-minature sized plant with elliptica leaves and the petals with a very small lower lobe. It is somewhat similar to L papillipetala and L parvula with which this species is sympatric but it can be distinguished by the much bigger flowers up to .22" [5.5 mm] tall and the narrower leaves. Also similat to L stenophylla and its relatives but this specis can be distinguished from them by the reddish flowers with the laminae of the petals papillose-pilose. La planta de El Salvador ilustrada por Hamer (1981: p. 133, pI. 6), e identificada como Lepanthes ancylopetala, representa una forma de L. papillipetala Dressler

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI * Rhodora 61: 14 Dressler 1959; Las Orquideas de El Salvador Hamer vol 3 1981 in error not = L papillipetala; Selbyana Vol 10 1988 drawing fide; El Genero Lepanthes Sw. En Mexico Salazar and Soto 1996 Photo/drawing fide; Orchid Genera and Species in Guatemala Archila, Szlachchetko, Chiron, Lipinska, Mystkowska and Bertolini 2018

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