Stelis piestopus Schltr. 1921 SECTION Stelis

Drawing by © Carl Luer

Common Name The ? Stelis [refers to the flowers]

Flower Size .12" [3 mm]

Found in Cajamarca department of Peru at elevations around 2700 meters as a small sized, cold growing, caespitose epiphyte with erect, slender ramicauls enveloped by 3 imbricating, loose, tubular sheaths and carrying a single, apical, erect, coriaceous, oblong-spathulate, narrowing below into the petiolate base leaf that blooms in the fall on an erect, arising through a small spathe, subsecund, flexuous, to 9.2" [23 cm] long, laxly many flowered inflorescence with ovate-lanceolate floral bracts and carrying brown colored flowers.

This species and S cuencana are both said to be synonyms of S tricardium by many authors but Luer keeps them separate. All three are related to S argentata.

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;

*Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 9: 67 Schlechter 1921;

Figuren Atlas - Orchideenfloren der südamerkanischen Kordillerenstaaten Schlechter 1929 drawing fide;

Orchids of Peru Vol 1 Schweinfurth 1958

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