Lepanthes micellilabia Luer & R.Escobar 1994 SUBGENUS Lepanthes SECTION Lepanthes SUBSECTION Lepanthes SERIES Lepanthes
TYPE Photo/TYPE Drawing by © Rodrigo Escobar and Carl Luer Epidendra Webpage
Common Name The Smallest Lip Lepanthes
Flower Size .16" [4mm]
Found in Antioquia department of Colombia in cloud forests at elevations around 2400 meters as a mini-miniature sized, cold growing epiphyte with slender, erect, enveloped by 5 to 6, microscopically ciliate, lepanthiform sheaths and carrying a single, apical, erect, coriaceous, ovate, acute, rounded and contracted below into the petiolate base leaf that blooms in the winter on a slender, congested, distichous, .52" [1.3 cm] long including the .12" [3 mm] long peduncle, successively many flowered inflorescence arising on top of the leaf and has acute, lightly muricate floral bracts.
Similar to L rigidigitata but it has a lax, flexuous, 5.6" [14 cm] long, racemose inflorescence and L L isoceles but it has a short, congested racemose inflorescence. The others in this similar group of flowers with very reduced petals and lip is L vestigialis and L abortiva.
"Lepanthes micellilabia resembles the Ecuadorian species, Lepanthes pelorostele , L scrotifera and L rigidigitata, the Colombian species L abortiva, L eros, L isoceles, L vargasii and L niphas and the Costa Rican Lepanthes equus-frisiaeL posthon, L spadariae and L vestgialis.
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Orquideología Vol 19 #2 pg 101. Luer & Escobar 1994TYPE drawing fide; Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol XXXII Luer 2012 drawing fide; Lankesteriana 17: 227 Moreno Vieira & Karremans 2017 drawing/photo fide; Orchids, A Colombian Treasure Vol 3 Ortiz & Uribe 2019 drawing fide;
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