Lepanthes oaxacana Salazar, Soto Arenas & O.Suárez 1996 SECTION Lepanthes SUBSECTION Lepanthes SERIES Elongatae 1993

Photo by © Octavio Suarez ="orphotdir/lepantheoaxacana.jpg"> TYPE Drawing

TYOE Drawing by © Miguel Soto and El Genero Lepanthes Sw. En Mexico Salazar and Soto 1996

LATE EARLY

Common Name The Oaxaca Lepanthes [A state of southern Mexico]

Flower Size .14” [4 mm]

Found only in Oaxaca state of Mexico in perrenial, oak/pine, cloud forests at elevations around 2500 meters as a mini-miniature to miniature sized, cold growing epiphyte with ascending, erect ramicauls enveloped by 3 rarely 4 lepanthiform sheaths and carrying a single, apical, coriaceous-fleshy, widely elliptic to suborbicular, obtuse, tridentate, abruptly attenuate below into the shortly petiolate base leaf that blooms in the late fall and early winter on 1 occasionally 2, occasionally 2 per bloom season, much longer than the leaf, mostly on the top of the leaf, peduncle filiform, 1.2” [3 cm] long, single tubular bracted, rachis flexuous, lax, 1.6 to 3” [4 to 7.5 cm] long overall, successively single, to 13 flowered inflorescence.

"Lepanthes oaxacana is a member of the L guatemalensis group but differs in the relatively smaller flowers the narrow sepals and minor differences in the petal and lip shape especially in the shape of the appendix which is bilobed but thicker in the wings. The dark purple flower color is also characterizstic. L oaxacana is found in the same area as L guerrerensis a nd si similar but the latter has yellow flowers with the center scarlet and the sepals are wider." Salazar & Soto 199

The photo is the type photo for the species and is absolutely correct.

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * El Genero Lepanthes Sw. En Mexico Salazar and Soto 1996 Photo/drawing fide;

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