Lepanthes aquila-borussiae Rchb.f. 1854 2020 SUBGENUS Lepanthes SECTION Lepanthes SUBSECTION Breves Luer 1986 SERIES Breves Luer 1996

Drawing

Photo by © Rodrigo Escobar/TYPE Drawing by © Carl Luer and The Swiss Orchid Foundation at the Jany Renz Herbaria Webpage

LATER

Common Name The Prussian Eagle Lepanthes [refers to fancied appearance of the lip]

Flower Size .2" [5 mm]

Found in Santander and Norte de Santander departments of Colombia at elevations of 2550 to 3150 meters as a mini-miniature sized, cold growing epiphyte with erect, slender ramicauls enveloped by 6 to 8, long ciliate lepanthiform sheaths and carrying a single, erect, thickly coriaceous, narrowly ovate, acute, contracted below into the petiolate base leaf that blooms in the later spring on an erect, congested, distichous, congested, .4 to .6" [1 to 1.5 cm] long including the .2 to .4" [.5 to 1 cm] long peduncle, successively few to many flowered inflorescence with echinate floral bracts.

CAUTION I am not convinced that the photo is truely L aquila-borussiae so please use with caution. The drawing is correct.

Lepanthes aquila-borussiae is similar to but L mefueensis differs in the smooth marigined, rather than denticulate sepals, the lateral sepals with a single vein, and the lip with a filiform, deflexed appendix.

Synonyms Lepanthes rabei Foldats 1968

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Flora de Venezuela Foldats Volumen XV Part 2 1970; Flora de Venezuela Foldats Volumen XV Part 2 1970 as L rabei drawing hmm; Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol XXXII Luer 2012 drawing fide; Orchids, A Colombian Treasure Vol 3 Ortiz & Uribe 2019 photo fide;

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