Platystele ingramii Luer & Dalstrom 1996

TYPE Drawing by Carl Luer and The Swiss Orchid Foundation at the Jany Renz Herbaria Website

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Common Name or Meaning Ingram's Platystele [American Orchid enthusiast and Co-collector of species current]

Flower Size .16" [4 mm]

Found in Imbabura province of Ecuador in wet montane forests on small mossy branches at elevations around 1100 meters as a mini-miniature sized, cool growing epiphyte with suberect, ramicauls enveloped by 2 tubular sheaths and carrying a single, apical, eret to suberect, coriaceous, elliptical, acute to subacute leaf that is cuneate below into the petiolate base and blooms in the late winter and early spring on an erect, loose, distichous, flexuous, slender, .28" [7 mm] long peduncle, single flowered, inflorescence with a bract near the middle and with short, acute floral bracts.

"Vegetatively this species is indistinguishable from L minimiflora. The flowers of P ingramii are more than twice as large with acute floral parts. Most distinguishing is the concave synsepal formed by the lateral sepals connate to near the apices, so far unique in the genus. The lateral sepals of only a few species are connate to near the middle. The fleshy lip is ovate and acute." Luer & Dalstrom 1996

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol XIV Systematics of Draconanthes, Lepanthes subgenus Marsipanthes and subgenus Lepanthes of Ecuador Luer 1996 drawing fide; Native Ecuadorian Orchids Vol 4 Dodson 2003 Drawing fide

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