Sarcoglottis scintillans (E.W.Greenw.) Salazar & Soto Arenas 2002 publ. 2003
TYPE Photos/TYPE Drawing of Pelexia scintillans by © Greenwood and
MID 
EARLY
Common Name The Sparkling Sarcoglottis
Flower Size .2" [5 mm]
Found in Guerrero & Oaxaca states of Mexico and Guatemala in elfin forests sometimes along streams at elevations of 1400 to 1900 meters as a medium sized, cool to cold growing terrestrial with an erect, terminal stem carrying deciduous, not present at blooming, 4 to 7, in a basal rosettte, long ovate, slightly undulate margins, acute, gradually narrowing below into the shortly petilolate base leaves that blooms in the mid spring through early summer on an erect, terminal, peduncle 12 to 13.5" [30 to 33 cm] long, provided with 11 to 15, imbricate towards the base, separated above, clasping, basally tubular except the upper 3 to 4, apices triangular, subacute to long-apiculate, adpressed to the stem, finely softly pubescent, becoming dull red, pubescent-languinose above, rachis 5.2 to 6.4" [13 to 16 cm] long, cylindrical, scapose, densely to 30 flowered inflorescence with not clasping, lanceolate, arcuate, canaliculate, tubular, half as long as the ovary floral bracts.
"The rostellum of P. scintillans is remarkable for its large size and rigid structure. In engineering terms it looks much like half of an X-girder with wide flanges when seen in end view. This shape is chosen for construction when the member will be stressed by loads pushing directly on the end, as in a load-bearing column. The shape is highly resistant to buckling (bending laterally when end-loaded). Because the non-adhesive viscidium may attach to the pollinator by wedging between parts of the exoskeleton, a strong support for the viscidium seems desirable. However, not all wedge-viscidium orchid species have stiff rostellums, which suggests differences in the behaviour of different pollinators." E W Greenwood 1990
Synonyms *Pelexia scintillans E.W.Greenw. 1990; Zhukowskia scintillans (E.W.Greenw.) Szlach., Mytnik & Rutk. 2003
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
Orquídea (Mexico City), n.s., 12(1): 48. Greenwood 1990 as Pelexia scintillans
Orquídea (Mexico City), n.s., 12(1): 50. Greenwood 1990 as Pelexia scintillans drawing
Orquídea (Mexico City), n.s., 12(1): 51 . Greenwood 1990 as Pelexia scintillans photo fide;
*Icones Orchidacearum 5-6 Hagsater & Soto 2002 drawing fide;
Genus, Suppl.: 59 Szlach., Mytnik & Rutk 2003 as Zhukowskia scintillans
Orchid Genera and Species in Guatemala Archila, Szlachchetko, Chiron, Lipinska, Mystkowska and Bertolini 2018 as Zhukowskaia scintillans;
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