Stelis philargyrus Rchb.f. 1877 SECTION Stelis

Drawing by © Oscar Duque

Common Name The Silver Friend Stelis [referring to its relatinship with S argentata]]

Flower Size

Found in Merida state of Venezuela at elevations around 2800 meters as a mini-miniature sized, cold growing, caespitose epiphyte with erect ramicauls enveloped by a 2 to 3, tubular sheaths and carrying a single, apical, coriaceous, oblong-lanceolate, subacute, attenuate below into the base leaf that blooms on 1 to 2, erect, as long as to just shorter than the leaf, fractiflex, peduncle short, rachis 1.6 to 2.48" [4 to 6.2 cm] long, erect, distichous, mostly simultaneously many flowered inflorescence with triangular, acute, shorter than the pedicel floral bracts and carrying yellowish green to pale purplish, glabrous to shortly pubescent on the edges, papillose within flowers.

"Identified by its unequal sepals, Lightly fractiflex raceme and its globose, dentate lip." O Duque 2008."

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;

* Linnaea 41: 118 Rchb.f 1877

Orchidaceae Stelis , A Compendium Duque 2008 drawing fide;

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