Pleurothallis stenosepala Rolfe 1892 - See also Pleurothallis microcardia Rchb.f. 1855 SUBGENUS Pleurothallis SECTION Macrophyllae-Fasciculatae Lindl 1859 Photo by Jay Pfahl ©

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Common Name The Slim Petaled Pleurothallis

Flower Size 5/8" [1.66 cm]

Found in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia in tropical moist forests on trees with rough bark at elevations of 1160 to 2800 meters as a small sized, warm to cold growing epiphyte or occasional terrestrial with slender, ramicauls enveloped basally by 2 to 3 tubular sheaths and carrying a single, apical, narrowly elliptic, apiculate, cordate leaf that is sharply folded longitudinally towards the rounded base and blooms in the spring but often at any other time on a short, single successively flowered inflorescence holding the flower close to the leaf base.

New treatments of Pleurothallis and this section move this species to the Pleurothallis microcardia complex with several varieties, ie tamaensis, cubitoria etc.

CAUTION Further complicating this one and the reason it is left up is that P microcardia is a single prostrate against the leaf species and this one, and it may not be P stenosepala either, has a long pedicel and does not arise through a spathe and has a visible fascile of old inflorescence. The flower photo was taken in situ in Cundinamarca Colombia 5/07.

Synonyms Pleurothallis tamaensis Foldats 1968

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Venezuelan Orchids Illustrated Vol 5 Dunsterville & Garay 1975 drawing good; AOS Bulletin Vol 48 #10 1979 photo fide; Orchids of Venezuela An Illustrated Field Guide Vol 3 Dunsterville & Garay 1979 drawing good; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum plate 580 Dodson 1982 as P stenosepala drawing ok; Systematics of Pleurothallis Vol 3 Luer 1986; Native Colombian Orchids Vol 3 COS 1991 photo fide; Orchids of Venezuela [An illustrated field guide] Vol. 3 Ramiro and Carnevali 2000 drawing good; Orchids of Bolivia Vasquez & Ibisch Vol 1 2000 photo/drawing fide; Orquideas Nativas del Tachira Cesar Fernandez 2003 photo not = P microcardia; Orchid Digest Vol 71 No 3 2007 photo fide

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