Polystachya kermesina Kraenzl. 1909 SECTION Kermesina Cribb

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Photos by Bob Campbell and the Orchids of Kenya ©,

Part Sun Cold Winter SpringSummer Fall

Common Name The Carmine Red Polystachya

Flower Size .2" [.5 cm]

Found in Rwanda, Zaire and Uganda in lichens and mosses in forests with mountain gorillas at elevations of 2000 to 3200 meters as a mini-miniature sized, cold growing epiphyte with slender, cylindrical pseudobulbs that arise from the middle of the previous growth and carrying 2 to 5, linear, acute, leaves and blooms at most any time ofd the year on a 1/2 to 1" [1.25 to 2.5 cm] long, shorter than the leaves, 1 to 3 flowered inflorescence with wide open, fleshy flowers.

Synonyms

References AOS Bulletin Vol 77 no 1 2008 photo; Orchids of Kenya Stewart 1996 AOS Bulletin Vol 52 No 11 1983 photo fide; Flora of Tropical East Africa Orchidaceae Part 2 Cribb 1984; Rudolf Schlechter Die Orchideen Band 1B lieferung 23 1393 - 1456 Brieger 1990 ; African Orchids in the wild and Cultivation La Croix 1997; Orchid Digest vol 71 #3 2007 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 77 No 11 2008 photo fide; Orchidaceae of West Central Africa Vol 2 2015 drawing good;

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