Oestlundia ligulata (La Llave & Lex.) Soto Arenas 2008
Photo by © Jesús Moreno Navarro and his Fotonatura Orchid Photo Website
Another Flower Photo courtesy of Weyman Bussey
Drawing By © R Jimenez/Hagsater & Soto;
LATE 
through 
Common Name The Spoon-Shaped Oestlundia
Flower Size .8" [2 cm]
Found in Nayarit, Jalisco, Michoacan, Mexico, Morelos, Gurrero and Oaxaca states of Mexico at elevations of 1350 to 2100 meters as a miniature to small sized, cool to cold growing epiphyte with ovoid to ovoid-spherical, clustered pseudobulbs carrying 2 to 3, apical, linear, acute to obtuse leaves and blooms in the late winter through early summer on a simple to few branched, 2 to 12 flowered, 6" [15 cm] long inflorescence with nodding, showy flowers.
This species appreciates mounting on a rough barked branch with cool, very dry winters. Very similar to Oestlundia luteorosea which has 5 rows of papillae or warty ridges while O ligulata has a wider warty median vein.
Synonyms Encyclia tenuissima (Ames, F.T.Hubb. & C.Schweinf.) Dressler 1961; *Epidendrum ligulatum Lex. 1825; Epidendrum llavei Steud. 1840; Epidendrum tenuissimum Ames, F.T.Hubb. & C.Schweinf. 1934; Oestlundia tenuissima (Ames, F.T.Hubb. & C.Schweinf.) W.E.Higgins 2001
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
Nov. Veg. Descr. 2(Orchid. Opusc.): 26 Lexara 1825 as Epidendrum ligulatum;
Nomencl. Bot., ed. 2, 1: 558 Steud. 1840 as Epidendrum llavei nom. superfl.;
Bot. Mus. Leafl. 3: 15 Ames, F.T.Hubb. & C.Schweinf. 1934 as Epidendrum tennuissimum;
The Genus Epidendrum Ames 1936 as Epdiendrum tenuissimum;
Brittonia 13: 265 Dressler 1961 as Encyclia tennuissima;
The Genus Encyclia in Mexico Dressler & Pollard 1974 as Epidendrum ligulatum excluded species;
Flora Novo-Galaciana Vol 16 McVaugh 1985 as Encyclia tennuissima;
An Introdution to the Orchids of Mexico Wiard 1987 as Encyclia tennuissima photo fide;
Selbyana 22: 4 W E Higgins 2001 as Prosthechea tenuissima;
Orchid Digest Vol 66 #3 2002 as O tenuissima;
Orquideas del Estado de Morelos ORQUÍDEA (MÉX.) VOLUMEN 16 NÚMERO ÚNICO enero 2002 drawing/photo fide;
The Cattleyas and Their Relatives, the Debateable Epidendrum Withner and Harding 2004 as O tenuissima photo fide;
* Icones Orchidacearum fascile 10 plate 1057 Hagsater & Soto 2008 drawing fide
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