Orestias stelidostachya (Rchb.f.) Summerh.1937Photo by © Stevart T. and The Orchidaceae of Central Africa Website

Drawing Drawing by H.B. Margonska & D.L. Szlachetko and The Taxonomic Revision of the African Genus Orestias Ridl. Website

Collection sheet Scan by and the JSTOR Plant Science Website

Full shade WarmCoolFall

Common Name The Folded?Orestias [refers to the bent inflorescence?]

Flower Size

Found in Sao Tome in primary lowland and montane forests at elevations of 200 to 1650 meters as a miniature sized, hot to cool growing terrestrial orchid with clustered, fusiform pseudobulbs enveloped by a few basal leaf sheaths and carrying 3, obliquely ovate, acute, thin, plicate, petiolate base leaves that blooms in the fall on an erect, terminal, peduncle with a few sheaths, [9 to 19 cm] long, densely up to 35 flowered inflorescence carrying greenish white to pinkish flowers

The pictured collected specimen is the type for the species and was collected in 1861

Synonyms Malaxis stelidostachya (Rchb.f.) Kuntze 1891; *Microstylis stelidostachya Rchb.f. 1881

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Die Orchideen Band 3 Sonderabdruck aus Schlechter Brieger, Maatsch and Senghas Liferung #14 820 - 880 1984 drawing ok; The Taxonomic Revision of the African Genus Orestias Ridl. H.B. Margonska & D.L. Szlachetko 2006 drawing fide; Orchidaceae of West Central Africa Szaltchetko etal 2012 drawing fide

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------