Stelis calothece Schltr. 1915 SECTION Stelis

TYPE drawing of S porphyrea by Carl Luer

Common Name The Beautiful Stelis

Flower Size .2" [5 mm]

Found in Pichincha province of Ecuador at elevations around 2300 meters as a mini-miniature sized, cold growing, caespitose epiphyte with erect, slender, purple ramicauls enveloped 2 to 3 tubular sheaths and carrying a single, apical, erect, purple coriaceous, elliptical, subacute to obtuse, cuneate below into the petiolate base leaf that blooms in the fall on an erect, purple, peduncle 1.2" [3 cm] long, from an annulus below the apex of the ramicaul, rachis 1.2" [3 cm] long, distichous, sublax, simultaneously few flowered inflorescence with acute, shorter than the ovary floral bracts and carrying purple flowers with subequal, expanded, glabreous externally, sparsely short pubescent within sepals, transversely ovate petals and a thick, subquadrate lip.

"The species is related to Stelis argetata but S calothece is distinguished by the much smaller caespitose plant, , with all parts of the plant and inflorescscnce purple. The raceme is simultaneously several flowered and exceeds the leaf in length. The sepals are shortly pubescent, broadly ovate, obtuse and more or less equall, the petals are thick and convex and the lip is thickly subquadrate with a sharp apiculum in the center of the round apical margin." Luer 2002

Synonyms Stelis porphyrea Luer & Hirtz 2002

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;

Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol XXIV Luer A Century Of Stelis of Ecuador 2002 as S porphyrea

Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol XXIV Luer A Century Of Stelis of Ecuador 2002 as S porphyrea drawing fide;

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------