Stelis montana L.O.Williams 1940 SECTION Stelis

Drawing by © Oscar Duque

Common Name The Mountain Stelis [refers to the high elevation habitat of the species]

Flower Size

Found in Chiriqui department of Panama at elevations around 2500 meters as a medium sized, cold growing, caespitose epiphyte with erect, clustered, stout ramicauls enveloped by 2 to 3 tubular sheaths and carrying a single, apical, erect, coriaceous, elliptical-oblong, obtuse and tridenticulate , narrowing below into the shortly petiolate base leaf that blooms in the winter on an erect, arising through a spathe, as long or longer than teh leaf, peduncle short, rachis subdistichous, successively about half, many flowered inflorescnece, 6.8 to 10" [17 to 25 cm], many flowered inflorescence with naviuclar, acute, just shorter than the ovary floral bracts and carrying large, green, glabrous flowers.

Distinguished by its location, its stout habit with large flowers, a rectangular-oblong lip with a v callus and its monoglobular stigna." O Duque 2006

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;

* Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 27: 272 L. O. Williams 1940;

Orchids of Panama L O Willams and Paul Allen 1980;

Orchidaceae Stelis Swartz, A Compendium Duque 2008 drawing fide

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