Pleurothallis tricarinata Poepp. & Endl. 1836 SUBGENUS Acianthera [Scheidw.] Luer 1986

Photo courtesy of © Dalton Holland Baptista

Inflorescence apex

Photo by Gilberto Khouri and his Flickr orchid photo site

Inflorescence

Photo courtesy of Eric Hunt

Drawing

Drawing by Carl Luer

to

Common Name The Three Keeled Pleurothallis

Found in Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil in wet montane forests at elevations of 80 to 1650 meters as a small sized, hot to cool growing, caespitose to shortly repent epiphyte with erect ramicauls enveloped basally by 2 to 3 basal, loose, tubular, imbricating, acuminate sheaths all carrying a single, apical, elliptic-lanceolate, acute, dark green leaf with a compressed, petiolate base that blooms in the fall, winter and early spring on an erect, subtended by a spathe, congested, terminal, 10" [25 cm] long, racemose many flowered inflorescence with conspiculus, broadly expanded, condulpicate, acute, often enclosing much of the flower floral bracts.

"Easily recognized by the relatively large habit, terte ramicauls somewhat compressed above and shorter than the sessile, elliptical leaves and a stut, few flowered raceme longer than the leaves. The whole inflorescence appears flattened from the compressed peduncle to the conspicuous,alternating floral bracts that enclose a part of if not most of the flower. The flowers are also compressed with fleshy, tall-carinate sepals." Luer 2004

CAUTION!!Most sources include P platystachys as a synonym of this species but I have separated them pending more information.

Synonyms Acianthera tricarinata (Poepp. & Endl.) Pridgeon & M.W. Chase 2001; Humboltia tricarinata (Poepp. & Endl.) Kuntze 1891; Pleurothallis acutangula H.Wendl. & Kraenzl. 1900; Pleurothallis trialata Rolfe 1907; Pleurothallis triptera Schltr. 1922

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;

*Nov. Gen. Sp. Pl. 1: 49 Poepp. & Endl. 1836;

Bonplandia j2:25 Rchb.f 1854 as P tripteris;

Xenia Orchidaceae vol 2 Rchb.f 1865 drawing fide;

Xenia Orchidaceae Vol 3 Reichenbach 1900 as P acutangula drawing;

Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol III Systematics of Pleurothallis Luer 1986;

Icones Orchidacearum Peruviarum Plate 167 Bennett & Christenson 1993 drawing ok;

Orchids of Bolivia Vasquez & Ibisch Vol 1 2000 drawing fide;

Orchids of Bolivia Vasquez & Ibisch Vol 1 2000 as P triptera;

Lindleyana Vol 16 No 4:246 Pridgeon & M.W. Chase2001 as Acianthera tricarinata;

Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol XXVI Pleurothallis subgenus Acianthera and Three Allied subgenera, A Second Century of new Species of Stelis of Ecuador, Epibator, Ophidion and Zootrophion Luer 2004

Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol XXVI Pleurothallis subgenus Acianthera and Three Allied subgenera, A Second Century of new Species of Stelis of Ecuador, Epibator, Ophidion and Zootrophion Luer 2004 Drawing ok;

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 tricarinata photo fide;

Pleurothallids Neotropical Jewels Vol 1 Karremans & Viera 2020 as Acianthera tricarinata photo fide

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