Pleurothallis chionopa Luer 1980 SUBGENUS Acianthera [Scheidw.] Luer 1986
Photo by © Tom Fox
TYPE Drawing by © Carl Luer and The Swiss Orchid Foundation at the Jany Renz Herbaria Website
Common Name The Snow White Pleurothallis [refers to the flowers]
Flower Size .2" [5 mm]
Found in Santander department of Colombia and Napo province of Ecuador in cloud forests at elevations of 1650 to 1700 meters as a mini-miniature to miniature sized, cool growing, repent epiphyte with erect, slender, slightly compressed towards the apex ramicauls with 2 to 3, tubular sheaths about the base and carrying a single, apical, coriaceous, suberect, ovate, acute, rounded below into the sessile base leaf that blooms in the spring on a congested, arising through a spathe at the base of the sessile leaf, distichous, .8" [2 cm] long, including the .4" [1 cm] long, peduncle, simultaneously 6 to 8 flowered inflorecence with just shorter than the ovary floral bract.
"Easily recognized by the long, repent rhizome, slender, erect ramicauls and ovate leaves and a short raceme of snow white flowers. The fleshy floral parts are not unusual for the subgenus, an oblong dorsal sepal and ovate synsepal, small, minutely serrulate petals and an oblong lip witha pair of calli becoming erect margins above the base." Luer 2004
Synonyms Acianthera chionopa (Luer) Pridgeon & M.W.Chase 2001
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
* Phytologia 46: 361 Luer 1980;
Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol III Systematics of Pleurothallis Luer 1986;
Lindleyana Vol 16 No 4 2001 as Acianthera chionopa;
Pleurothallids Neotropical Jewels Vol 1 Karremans & Viera 2020 as Acianthera chinopa photo fide
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