Pleurothallis sarcochila Garay 1953 SUBGENUS Pleurothallis SECTION Macrophyllae-Fasciculatae Lindl 1859

Drawing by © Carl Luer

Common Name The Fleshy Lipped Pleurothallis

Flower Size .8" [2 cm]

Found in Carchi, Sucumbios and Imbabura provinces of northwestern Ecuador in primary and scrubby forests at elevations around 2600 to 3300 meters as a medium to just large sized, cold growing, caespitose epiphyte with relatively slender, erect, ramicauls enveloped with a close, tubular sheath on the lower third and 1 to 2 others at the base and carrying a single, apical, suberect to spreading, coriaceous, oblong-ovate, subacute, acuminate, cordate below into the sessile base leaf that blooms in the summer and fall on a .2 to .4" [.5 to 1 cm] long peduncle, arising through and concealed by a spathe at the base of the leaf, successively single, few flowered inflorescence with a thin tubular, shorter than the pedicel floral bract and carrying a large flower.

Similar to P grandiflora but differs in the much longer sepals and wider and longer petals as well as the smooth and convex with recurved margined lip and reaches .6" [15 mm] in length. Also similar to P siphoglossa but differs mostly in the less revolute lip

P sarcochilais is similar to P adonis, P deflexa, P grandiflora, P linguifera, P millei and P siphoglossa in the large sized flowers.

Synonyms Acronia sarcochila (Garay) Luer 2005; Zosterophyllanthos sarcochilus (Garay) Szlach. & Kulak 2006

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;

*Arch. Jard. Bot. Rio de Janeiro 12: 176 Garay 1953;

Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol XXVII Systematics of Dryadella Systematics of Macrophyllae-Fasciculatae Luer 2005 as Acronia sarcochila

Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol XXVII Systematics of Dryadella Systematics of Macrophyllae-Fasciculatae Luer 2005 as Acronia sarcochila drawing fide;

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

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