Stelis lumbricosa O.Duque 1997 SECTION Humboldtia
Photo by © Diego Calderon and his Flickr Orchid Photo Website
TYPE Photo/TYPE Drawing by © Duque and The Epidendra Website
Common Name The Little Worm Stelis [refers to the petals shape]
Flower Size .16" [4 mm]
Found in Santander and Risaralda departments of Colombia at elevations around 2000 meters as a small sized, cool to cold growing, ascending epiphyte with erect, stout ramicauls arising from the node on the previous ramicaul and carrying a single, apical, erect, coriaceous, elliptical-oblong, subacute, tridenticulate, cuneate below into the sulcate petiolate base leaf that blooms on 1 to 2, arising through an acute spathe, erect, loose, distichous, to 4" [ to 10 cm] long including the very short peduncle, mostly simultaneously many flowered inflorescence with cucullate, shorter than the ovary floral bracts and carrying flowers with a deep red dorsal sepal, white lateral sepals, white petals and a red lip.
"The plant may be recognized by its medium to large size, its creeping rhizome, its ramose habit, the large red dorsal sepal, its almost white greenish synsepal, and by the appearance of the petals in the flower that look like two small worms. The flowers open in the evening until early in the morning." O Duque 1997
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
* Orquideologia Vol 20 #3 pg 354 Duque 1997 drawing/photo fide; Orchidaceae Stelis Swartz A Compendium Duque 2008 drawing fide; Orquideas de Farallones de Cali Galindo-Tarazona, Haelterman, Zuluaga Trochez and Sebastian Moreno 2020 photo good, missing petals???
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