Pleurothallis franciana Sierra-Ariza 2023 SUBGENUS Pleurothallis SECTION Macrophyllae-Fasciculatae Lindl 1859
LCDP Photo by Sierra-Aziz and TYPE Drawing by © A. Albino Bohorquez and LANKESTERIANA 23(1) TWO NEW SPECIES OF PLEUROTHALLIS (PLEUROTHALLIDINAE) SUBSECTION MACROPHYLLAE-FASCICULATAE FROM THE CENTRAL ANDES OF COLOMBIA Mario Alexei Sierra-Ariza 2023
EARLIER
Common Name or Meaning Francia's Pleurothallis [to honor Francia Elena Márquez Mina, Vice-president of the Republic of Colombia (2022–2026), social leader, environmental activist, She carried out activities supporting the conservation of rivers, customs, and the territory of the Afro-Colombian people. She is a tireless fighter against indiscriminate mining. current]
Flower Size .12" [3 mm]
Found in Tolima department of Colombia in a fragment of wet premontane forest on thin branches and among a sparse covering of bryophytes in dark and humid areas at elevations of 1900 to 2000 meters as a mini-miniature to miniature sized, cold growing caespitose epiphyte with erect to suberect, green ramicauls enveloped by a tubular, papyraceous, light brown sheath in the lower third and 2 others at the base and carrying a single, apical, erect, light green, bright, coriaceous, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, cordate below into the sessile base leaf that blooms in the earlier summer on a terete, green, .08 to .152" [2 to 3.8 mm] long, peduncle enclosed at the base by a spathaceous bract, fascicle of successive flowers, one flower, rarely with two simultaneous flowers, few flowered inflorescence with a tubular, papyraceous, acute, shorter than the pedicel floral bract.
"Pleurothallis franciana is similar to Pleurothallis ariana-dayanae from which it differs by having a narrowly ovate-lanceolate dorsal sepal (vs. lanceolate), an ovate synsepal (vs. broadly ovate) and the lip oblong-lanceolate, acute, vesiculose (vs. ovate-elliptic, obtuse, verrucose-papillose), with an obovate glenion (vs. slightly bilobed). This species is also similar to Pleurothallis scabrilinguis , which has larger flowers and by Pleurothallis applanata, but the new species differs mainly by having the dorsal sepal narrowly ovate-lanceolate, (vs. narrowly elliptical-ovate, the petals linear, (vs. narrowly linear-triangular); the lip oblong-lanceolate, acute and vesiculose (vs. oblong-ovate, obtuse, cellular-verrucose) and the glenion obovate (vs. orbicular)." Sierra-Aziz 2023
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; LANKESTERIANA 23(1) TWO NEW SPECIES OF PLEUROTHALLIS (PLEUROTHALLIDINAE) SUBSECTION MACROPHYLLAE-FASCICULATAE FROM THE CENTRAL ANDES OF COLOMBIA Mario Alexei Sierra-Ariza 2023 Drawing/photo fide;
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