Platystele misera (Lindl.) Garay 1967
Photo by © La Canopee
Drawing by Carl Luer
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Common Name The Insignificant Platystele
Flower Size .16" [4 mm]
Found in Colombia, Ecuador and San Martin department of Peru at elevations of 1800 to 2900 meters as a miniature sized, cool to cold growing, caespitose epiphyte with a stout, erect ramicaul enveloped by 2 to 3 tubular sheaths with a single, apical, erect, coriaceous, elliptic-obovate, obtuse to rounded leaf that is cuneate towards the petiole and blooms at any time of the year on a filamentous, erect, 5 to 6" [12 to 14 cm] long including the 2.4 to 3.2" [6 to 8 cm] long peduncle, successively single, several flowered inflorescence that is at least twice the length of the leaves and has thin, shorter than the pedicel floral bracts.
"Related to P gyroglossa and P consobrina both of which have thinner, narrower, acute leaves. The lip of P gyroglossa is rounded and the lip of P consobrina is subacute. The short stemmed leaves of P misera are thickly coriaceous and narrowly obovate, more or less resembling those of a Masdevallia. The erect racemes may reach a height three times the length of the leaves. The very small floral parts are basically simple. The lip is elliptical ovate with the apex narrowly rounded." Luer 1990
Synonyms Humboldtia misera (Lindl.) Kuntze 1891; Humboltia misera (Lindl.) Kuntze 1891; *Pleurothallis misera Lindl. 1859;
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Orquideologia Vol 16 No 1 1983; Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol VII Systematics of Platystele Luer 1990 drawing fide; Native Ecuadorian Orchids Vol 4 Dodson 2003 drawing fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 88 #10 2019 photo fide;
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