Stelis opercularis Luer 1981 SECTION Humboldtia
Flower Closeup In situ Morona Santiago 2400 meters
Photos In situ Morona Santiago 2400 meters by Jay Pfhl
TYPE Drawing by Carl Luer
Photo by Ecuagenera and their Ecuador Orchid Website
Common Name The Covered Stelis
Flower Size .1 to .22" [3 to 5.5 mm]
Found in Colombia and Morona-Santiago and Zamora-Chinchipe provinces of southeastern Ecuador in rainforests at elevations around 700 to 2400 meters as a mini-miniature sized, warm to cool growing, caespitose epiphyte with erect ramicauls enveloped by 2 fibrous, tubular sheaths and carrying asingle, apical, erect, coriaceous, oblong-obovate, obtuse, tridenticulate, narrowing below into the twisted, petillate base leaf that blooms in the summer on 1 to 3, arising through a small nodular spathe, erect to arching, racemose, distichous, several flowered inflorescence with infundibular, acute, red, shorter than teh ovary floral bracts and carrying bilabiate, sensitive, purple flowers with lateral sepals that can be pale yellow.
" Stelis odobenella is similar to S opercularis but Stelis odobenella is distinguished by the long, tusk-like processes of the stigmatic lobes. The lips demonstrate a close relationship with the tall callus that occupies the dorsum, but an anterior pair of mammilliform calli distinguishes S odobenella and a pyramidal callus distinguishes S opercularis." Luer 2009
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
Orchidaceae Stelis Swartz, A Compendium Duque 2008 drawing good;
Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol XXX Lepanthes of Jamaica Stelis of Ecuador Part IV Luer 2009
Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol XXX Lepanthes of Jamaica Stelis of Ecuador Part IV Luer 2009 drawing fide;
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