Pleurothallis cardiocrepis Rchb.f.1888 SUBGENUS Pleurothallis SECTION Macrophyllae-Fasciculatae Lindl 1859

TYPE Drawing by Reichenbach and The Swiss Orchid Foundation at the JanyRenz Herbaria Website

Common Name The Heart-Shoe Pleurothallis [possibly refers to the leaf]

Flower Size

Found supposedly in Peru without locality as a small sized, caespitose orchid that is a great mystery. Reichenbach recieved the specimen from Herrenhausen Botanical Garden with no collection data. There are only three leaves with incomplete ramicauls on the type sheet but obviously he had a fresh flower as there is a watercolor of the flower attached to the sheet. The flowers are described as pale yellow but the watercolor has the sepals and petals with purple spots and the lip is covered with purple. No species has been found in this section with spotted flowers except for the narrow leaved A cobriformis from Central America and the Ecuadorian A matudana.

Here is what is known from the type: Small sized plant with slender ramicauls, an ovate, acute basally cordate leaf. Small, pale yellow flowers with ovate, acute dorsal sepal and synsepal, expanded, narrowly ovate, acute, entire petals and an ovate, obtuse lip.

Synonyms Acronia cardiocrepis (Rchb.f.) Luer 2005; Zosterophyllanthos cardiocrepis (Rchb.f.) Szlach. & Kulak 2006

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;

Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol XXVII Syatematics of Dryadella Systematics of Macrophyllae-Fasciculatae Luer 2005as Acronia cardiocrepis

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