Porroglossum merinoi Pupulin & A.Doucette 2010 SUBGENUS Porroglossum SECTION Porroglossum

Photo by Ecuagenera Orchid Website

Common Name Merino's Porroglossum [Ecuadorian Orchid Researcher in the Pleurothalidinae and collector of the type current]

Flower Size 3/5" [1.5 cm]

Found in Morona-Santiago province of Ecuador on mossy trees in cloud forests at elevations around 1800 meters as a mini-miniature sized, cool growing epiphyte with erect, slender ramicauls enveloped by 2 to 3, tubular, membraneous sheths and carrying a single, apical, erect, coriaceous, elliptic-oblanceolate, sub-verrucose, narrowing below into the conduplicate, long petiolate base leaf that blooms in the fall on a suberect, congested, peduncle terete, slnender, galbrous, provided with 4 to 5, widely spaced, tubular bracts, to 6" [125 cm] long, overall, successively few flowered inflorescence with tubular, shorter than the pedicel floral bracts and carrying resupinate, partially spreading, fragrant, clove scented flowers

"Porroglossum merinoi is one of the most distinctive species in the genus. It is the only species with truly pubescent sepals. P. hirtzii bears minute hairs on its sepals but they are sparsely distributed. P. merinoi is allied to P. andreettae, from which it differs by the petals with entire margins (vs. contracted into acute apices near the middle), a slightly broader labellum, and puberulent sepals provided with a thickened, glabrous, yellow apex. Both species are lightly fragrant.

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Lankesteriana 9: 460 Solano 2010 drawing fide; Orchids Masdevallia with its segregates including Dracula Zelenko 2014 photo fide; Pleurothallids Neotropical Jewels Vol 1 Karremans & Viera 2020 photo fide

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