Pleurothallis luctuosa Rchb. f. 1876 SUBGENUS Pleurothallis SECTION Pleurothallis SUBSECTION Acroniae SERIES Acroniae Luer 1988
Photo by © Daniel Jimenez
Photo by Dale and Deni Borders
Comparison photo of[a] P luctosa and [b] P neglecta
Comparison photo of P luctosa and P neglecta by © Franco Pupulin and Ann. Naturhist. Mus. Wien B112: 248. Pupulin, Bogarín & Mel.Fernández 2010
Drawing © by Ames
to 
Common Name The Sorrowful Pleurothallis [refers to the news of Endres' death]
Flower Size 1/2" [1.25 cm]
Found in Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama in very wet montane forests at elevations of 300 to 1150 meters as a miniature, hot to cool growing caespitose epiphyte with slender, erect, ramicauls enveloped basally by 2 to 3 basal, tubular sheaths and another below the middle carrying a single, apical, erect, coriaceous, narrowly elliptical-ovate, acute leaf that is narrowly cuneate and sessile basally that blooms in the spring on an erect to arching, loose, distichous, simultaneoulsy few to several flowered, 2 2/5" to 3 1/5" [6 to 8 cm] long, racemose inflorescence arising from a spathe and having thin, tubular floral bracts.
"Characerized by the slender habit with narrow leaves and a loosely flowered raceme of purple flowers with narrow sepals. The petals are subsigmoid and the lip is triangular." Luer 1998
"Distinguished from P neglecta by the semiterete leaves vs distinct, conduplicate leaves, the flowers with the sepals and petals purple, the triangular, smaller lip green suffused with purple vs with greenish yellow sepals with purple veins, the petals brown purple, the lip light green to yellowish, the obsoletely, serate-denticulate petals vs falcate, erose petals and the low and glabrous callus vs formed by tho conspicuous, densely papillose keels." Pupulin, Bogarín & Mel.Fernández 2010
CAUTION If the provenance of your orchid is Colombia or Ecuador then procede to P tenuisepala as the South American species has been separated from this entity.
Synonyms Acronia luctuosa (Rchb.f.) Luer 2005; Humboldtia luctuosa (Rchb. f.) Kuntze 1891; Humboltia luctuosa (Rchb. f.) Kuntze 1891;
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
Lankester's Epidendra Website CR;
* Linnaea 41: 48. Rchb.f 1877;
Xenia Orchidaceae Vol 3 15-16 Rchb. f. 1878 drawing fide;
Revis. Gen. Pl. 2: 667. Kuntze 1891 as Humboldtia luctosa;
Repert. Sp. Nov. Regni. Veg. Beih. 19: 107. Costa Rica Schlechter 1923;
Repert. Sp. Nov. Regni. Veg. Beih. 19: 190. Costa Rica Schlechter 1923;
Repert. Sp. Nov. Regni. Veg. Beih. 19: 287. Costa Rica Schlechter 1923;
Selbyana 3: 136 Luer 1976 drawing fide;
Icones Planetarum Tropicarum plate 242 Dodson 1980 drawing not = P tenuisepala?;
Icones Planetarum Tropicarum plate 1115 Dodson 1984 drawing fide;
Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol III Systematics of Pleurothallis Luer 1986;
Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol XVII Systematics of Subgen Pleuorthallis Sect Abortivae Sect Truncatae Sect Pleurothallis subsection Acroniae Subsect Pleurothallis Subgen Dracontia Subgen Uncifera Luer 1998 drawing not = P tenuisepala;
Native Colombian Orchids Vol 6 COS 1998 photo not = P tenuisepala;
Manual de Plantas de Costa Rica Vol 3 Hammel, Grayum, Herrera and Zamora 2003;
Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol XXVII Dryadella Acronia section Macrophyllae-Fasciculatae Luer 2005 as Acronia luctosa;
Orchids of Costa Rica Vol 5 Morales 2009 photo fide;
Vanishing Beauty, Native Costa Rican Orchids Vol 2 Lacaena to Pteroglossa Pupulin 2020 photo fide
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
![Comparison photo of[a] P luctosa and [b] P neglecta](orphotdir/pleuroneglecta.jpg){kind=link}
