Lepanthes culex Luer & R.Escobar 1984 SUBGENUS Lepanthes SECTION Lepanthes SUBSECTION Lepanthes SERIES Lepanthes
Photos by © Jean Marc Palandre and his Flickr Orchid Photo Website
TYPE Photo by Gilberto Escobar
TYPE Photo by Gilberto Escobar/TYPE drawing by © Carl Luer
LATE 
Common Name or Meaning The Mosquito-Like Lepanthes [refers to the minute, spindly flower]
Flower Size .08" [2 mm]
Found in Antioquia and Cauca departments of Colombia in cloud forests at elevations around 1800 to 2700 meters as a mini-miniature sized, cool to cold growing epiphyte with slender, erect ramicauls enveloped by 5 to 6, microscopically scabrous, lepanthiform sheaths and carrying a single, apical, erect, coriaceous, purple suffused beneath, elliptical, lightly acuminate, acute, cuneate below into the petiolate base leaf that blooms in the late winter through spring on a filiform, very congested, distichous, 1 to 1/2" [1.2 cm] long including the .32" [8 mm] long peduncle, successively single, few flowered inflorescence arising from beneath the leaf with minutely ciliate floral bracts.
"This species is one of a group characterized by a cordate lip with a round cleft apex. It is closely related to L alcicornis with which it grows sympatrically. Vegetatively L culex is larger than L alcicornis. The petals of L culex are 2 pronged and L alcicornis are 4 pronged. Also similar to L astraea and this one that so far is unidentified L sp #59
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * AOS Bulletin Vol 53 #7 1984 photo/drawing fide; Orquideología 19(2): 84-90. Luer & Escobar 1994 Drawing fide; Native Colombian Orchids Vol 5 COS 1994 photo not = L sp #59; Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol XXXII Luer 2012 Luer drawing fide; Orchid Digest Vol 83 #3 2019 photo fide; Orchids A Colombian Treasure Vol 3 Ortiz & Uribe 2019 drawing/photo fide;
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