Lepanthes janitor Luer & R.Escobar 1984 SECTION Lepanthes SUBSECTION Lepanthes SERIES Mucronatae Luer 1996
Photo by © Sebastian Vierra and his Flickr Orchid Photo Webpage
Leaf and Flower in situ Parque Tatama Choco Colombia 2300 meters 8/17
Photo by © Jay Pfahl
TYPE by © Carl Luer
Common Name The Doorkeeper Lepanthes [refers to the blades of the lip that close over the column]
Flower Size .2" [5mm]
Found in Antioquia and Choco departments of Colombia as well as Ecuador in cloud forests at elevations around 1700 to 2700 meters as a mini-miniature sized, cool to cold growing epiphyte with slender, erect, ramicauls enveloped by 11 to 13, microscopically ciliate lepanthiform sheaths and carrying a single, apical, erect, thinly coricaeous, ovate, acute, acuminate, cuneate below into the petiolate base leaf that blooms in the winter on a filiform, congested, .68 to 1.4" [1.7 to 3.5 cm] long including the .28 to 1" [7 to 25 mm] long peduncle, successively single, several flowered inflorescence arising from behind the leaf.
"Distinguished by the long, slender ramicauls and a proportionally small, narrowly ovate leaf with a congested raceme borne behind. The color of the flowers is similar to others close to L mucronata. The sepals are transluscent while the p[etals are green with a dark, purple brown, truncate upper lobe. The blades of the lip are transluscent and adherent over the column. The appendix is large, oblong and concave with a long-cilate appex." Luer 1996
Differs from the very similar L myoxophora by the truncate apex to the sepals, thin lobes of the lip that close over a large, bifurcated columm with the stigma bilobed beneath a large, rostelar flap.
There are 3 other species within Colombia that are very similar, L agglutinata, L posadae and L pilosaures which all have petals subequal in length and an uncinate process between the lobes.
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI Amer. Orchid Soc. Bull. 53(3): 362. 1984 as L myoxophora photo fide as L janitor; * Amer. Orchid Soc. Bull. vol 53 # 5 1984 Luer drawing/photo fide; Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol XIV Systematics of Draconanthes, Lepanthes subgenus Marsipanthes and subgenus Lepanthes of Ecuador Luer 1996 drawing fide; Flora of Ecuador No 88 Lepanthes and affiliates Dodson & Luer 2011 drawing fide; Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol XXXII Luer 2012 drawing fide; Orchids A Colombian Treasure Vol 3 Ortiz & Uribe 2019 drawing/photo fide;
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