Pleurothallopsis clausa (Luer & R. Escobar) Pridgeon & M. W. Chase 2001

TYPE Drawing by © Carl Luer and The Epidendra Website

Common Name The Closed Pleurothallopsis [refers to the cleistogamus flower that rarely opens]

Flower Size .12" [3 mm]

Found in Colombia and northwestern Ecuador at elevations around 1700 meters as a mini-miniature sized, cool growing epiphyte with an erect ramicaul enveloped completely by 6 to 8 brown, imbricating, ribbed, tubular sheaths and carrying a single, apical, erect, coriaceous, elliptical, subacute to acute, cuneate below into the petiolate base leaf that blooms in the winter on a fascile arising from near the apex of the ramicaul, .16 to .2" [4 to 5 mm] long, successively single flowered inflorescence with flowers that rarely open.

"Identified by the small habit usually witha few, yellowish cleistogamous flowers in all stages of development from buds to fruit. The sepals are lightly adherent. The lip is disinctive with an acute anterior lobe with incurved, serrulate margins and with a large pair of purple, erect, rounded basal lobes." Luer 1991

Synonyms Restrepiella clausa (Luer & R.Escobar) Braas & H.Mohr 1982; *Restrepiopsis clausa Luer & R.Escobar 1978

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Icones Pleurothallidinarum VIII Systematics of Lepanthospsis, Octomeria subgenus Pleurothallopsis, Restrepiella, Salpistele and Teagueia Luer 1991 as Restrepiopsis clausa drawing fide;

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------