Pleurothallis pubescens Lindl. 1837 SUBGENUS Acianthera [Scheidw.] Luer 1986
Photos by Americo Docha Neto
Photo by Dale and Deni Borders
Photo by Noble Bashor
Drawing by © Carl Luer
Pleurothallis aff. pubescens Lindl. 1836
Plant Form and Growth Habit, note that the inflorescence are not visible as they are on the under side of the leaf
Photos by Jay Pfahl This is a variant of the norm vegatatively. The leaves are thick, succulent and pointed at the end and they have a 3" long stem. The plant has the flowers growing on the underside of the leaf in the manner of Trichopsalpinx. This plant was collected in Chiapas Mexico and has flowers that open quickly in succession.
to 
Common Name The Fine Haired Pleurothallis
Flower Size .2" or less [.05 cm]
Found in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, French Guiana, Surinam, Venezuela, Santander department of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina in dense humid forests, at altitudes of 500 to 1900 meters as a highly variable, miniature sized, unifoliate, warm to cool growing, caespitose epiphytic species with slender ramicauls enveloped basally by 2 to 3 tubular sheaths and carrying a single, apical, obovate, acute, ancipitous below into the petiolate base leaf that blooms at most any time of the year on an apical, arising through a spathe, fasciculate, 1 3/4" [4.5 cm] long, few flowered, racemose inflorescence with longer than the ovary floral bracts that holds the fragrant [not good] flowers close to mid leaf.
"Characterized by thick, heavy, oblong leaves upon which the raceme of fleshy flowers lie. The background color of the sepals is rose or white, but heavily marked in spots, stripes and suffusion of purple. The lateral sepals are lightly connate, separating easily. The petals are broad, more or less flabellate, minutely fringed and variously unguiculate. The lateral lobes of the lip are below the middle and erect but variously formed, from obtuse to acute to antrorse." Luer 2004
Many references include P casapensis as a synonym, I have kept them separate for now.
Synonyms Acianthera pubescens (Lindl.) Pridgeon & M.W.Chase 2001; Humboldtia bufonis (Klotzsch) Kuntze 1891; Humboldtia polystachya Ruiz & Pav 1798; Humboldtia pubescens (Lindl.) Kuntze ?; Humboldtia smithiana (Lindl.) Kuntze?; Humboldtia truxillensis (Rchb. f.) Kuntze?; Humboldtia vittata (Lindl.) Kuntze?; Humboltia bufonis (Klotzsch) Kuntze 1891; Humboltia polystachya (A. Rich. & Galeotti) Kuntze 1891; Humboltia pubescens (Lindl.) Kuntze 1891; Humboltia smithiana (Lindl.) Kuntze 1891; Humboltia truxillensis (Rchb. f.) Kuntze 1891; Pleurothallis bourgeaui Kraenzl. 1920; Pleurothallis bufonis Klotzsch 1854; Pleurothallis coriacea Bello 1883; Pleurothallis janeirensis Barb. Rodr. 1882; Pleurothallis janeirensis var. viridicata Barb.Rodr. 1882; Pleurothallis mandibularis Kraenzl. 1920; Pleurothallis polystachya A. Rich. & Galeotti 1845; Pleurothallis porphyrantha Kraenzl. 1921; Pleurothallis riograndensis Barb. Rodr. 1882; Pleurothallis riograndensis var. longicaulis Cogn. 1896; Pleurothallis smithiana Lindl. 1843; Pleurothallis smithiana var. viridicata Cogn. 1896; Pleurothallis truxillensis Rchb. f. 1854; Pleurothallis vittata Lindl. 1838
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
* Compan. Bot. Mag. 2: 355. Lindl. 1836;
Bonplandia Rchb.f 1854 as P truxillensis;
Revis. Gen. Pl. 2: 668. Kuntze 1891 as Humboldtia pubescens;
Symbolae Antillanae Vol VI Orchidaceae Urban 1909 as P coriacea;
The Orchids of Panama L.O. Williams & P Allen 1946 as P vittata;
Orchids of Guatemala and Belize Ames & Correll 1952 as P vittata;
Venezuelan Orchids Illustrated Vol 1 Dunsterville & Garay 1959 as P truxillensis drawing good;
AOS Bulletin Vol 36 #9 1967 as P truxillensis;
Flora de Venezuela Foldats Volumen XV Part 2 1970 as Pleurothallis vittata drawing ok;
Fieldiana Biology, Vol 33, 1st Supple. to the Orchids of Peru Schweinfurth 1970;
Orchidaceae Brasilensis Band 1 Pabst & Dungs 1975 as P porphyrantha drawing hmm;
Orchids of Venezuela, An Illustrated Field Guide Vol 3 Dunsterville & Garay 1979 drawing good;
Icones Pleurothallidinarum Systematics of Pleurothallis Vol 3 Luer 1986 drawing fide;
Icones Planetarum Tropicarum plate 1122 Dodson 1984 drawing fide;
The Orchids of Surinam Werkhoven 1986 photo ok;
Icones Pleurothallidianrum Vol III Systematics of Pleurothallis Luer 1986;
Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol III Systematics of Pleurothallis Luer 1986 drawing fide;
Icones Planetarum Tropicarum Series II Orchids of Peru Plate 0158 Dodson & Bennett 1989 drawing fide;
Orchids Travel By Air A Pictoral Safari Mulder, Mulder-Roelfsema and Schuiteman 1990 as P smithiana photo fide;
AOS Bulletin Vol 61 No 10 1992 photo fide;
An Orchid Flora of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands Ackerman 1995 drawing fide;
Orchids of Venezuela [An illustrated field guide] Vol. 3 Ramiro and Carnevali 2000 photo/drawing good;
Orchids of Bolivia Vasquez & Ibisch Vol 1 2000 drawing fide;
Orchidaceae Antillanae Nir 2000;
Lindleyana 16(4): 245-246. Pridgeon & M.W.Chase 2001 as Acianthera pubescens;
Native Ecuadorian Orchids Vol 4 Dodson 2003 photo fide;
Manual de Plantas de Costa Rica Vol 3 Hammel, Grayum, Herrera and Zamora 2003;
Orquideas Nativas del Tachira Cesar Fernandez 2003 photo fide;
100 Orquideas Argentinas Freuler 2005 as P riograndense var longicaulis photo fide;
Orchid Species of Peru Zelenko Bermudez 2009 photo fide as Acianthera pubescens;
Orchid Flora of the Greater Antilles Ackerman 2014;
Diversity of Pleurothallidinae in Guatemala: An Endangered Orchid Subtribe with High Economic and Horticultural Potentials Edgar Mo Mo, Cetzal, Basu and Vega 2017 as Acianthera pubescens photo fide;
Orchid Genera and Species in Guatemala Archila, Szlachchetko, Chiron, Lipinska, Mystkowska and Bertolini 2018 as Acianthera pubescens;
Anales Jard. Bot. Madrid 75(1)e069: 13 2018 A taxonomic synopsis of Acianthera (Orchidaceae: Pleurothallidinae) in Peru, including two new species Damian, Chiron and Mitidieri 2018 as Acianthera pubescens photo fide;
Pleurothallids Neotropical Jewels Vol 1 Karremans & Viera 2020 as Acianthera pubescens photo fide;
Phytotaxa 490 (2) Zambrano & Solano 2021 as Acianthera pubescens drawing fide;
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