Chelonistele kinabaluensis (Rolfe) de Vogel 1984

Photo by Eric Hunt

Plant and Flower in situ Mt Kinabalu Borneo

Photo by Copyright © Rogier Van Vugt and His PBase Orchid Photo Website

Common Name The Kinabalu Chelonistele

Flower Size .2" [6 mm]

Found in Borneo in upper montane forests in thick moss on small branches of bushes or as a terrestrial at elevations around 1200 to 3500 meters as a small sized, cool to cold growing epiphyte or rarely terrestrial with crowded, narrowly cylindrical to narrowly ovate, yellowish-green pseudobubls carrying a single, apical narrowly-elliptic to linear, acute, tough, thickly coriaceous, olive-green stained red, sulcate, conduplicate below into the elongate, petiolate base leaf that blooms at most any time of the year on a laxly 5 to 9 flowered, 6" [15 cm] long, gradually lengthening, straight, stiff, elliptic in cross-section inflorescence that emerge terminally with the half grown new growth with ovate, acute, acuminate floral bracts and carrying flowers that all turn in one direction.

Synonyms Pholidota sigmatochilus J.J.Sm. 1943; *Sigmatochilus kinabaluensis Rolfe 1914

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Orchid Monographs Vol 3 Pholidota De Vogel 1988; The Plants of Mount Kinabalu Vol 2 Orchids Wood Beaman & Beaman 1993; A Checklist of the Orchids of Borneo Wood & Cribb 1994 as Chelonistele kinabulensis; Rudolf Schlechter Die Orchideen Band 1C lieferung 42 - 43 pg 2626 - 2762 Brieger 2001; Orchids of Borneo Vol 4 Wood 2003 as Pholidota sigmatochilus drawing/photo fide; The Orchids of Mount Kinabalu Vol 1 Wood, Beaman, Lamb, Chu Lun and Beaman 2011 as Pholidota sigmatochilus drawing fide; The Orchids of Mount Kinabalu Vol 2 Wood, Beaman, Lamb, Chu Lun and Beaman 2011 as Pholidota sigmatochilus

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