Stelis piperina Lindl. 1859 SECTION Humboldtia
Photo by © Alexander Hirtz
Drawing by © Carl Luer
Common Name The Peperomia-Like Stelis
Flower Size .2" [5 mm]
Found in Panama? and Ecuador at elevations around 1500 to 2500 meters as a mini-miniature sized, cool to cold growing, repent epiphyte or terrestrial with ascending, slender ramicauls enveloped by 2 ribbed, tubular sheaths with minutely ciliate-papular margins and carrying a single, apical, suberect to pendent, coriaceous, elliptical, subacute to obtuse, cuneate below into the petiolate base leaf that blooms in the summer and early fall on a pendent, arising from near the apex of the ramicaul, sublax, distichous, to 2 to 2.8" [5 to 7 cm] long including the .8 to 1.2" [2 to 3 cm] long peduncle, simultaneously several flowered inflorescence broadly ovate, cucullate, acuminate, acute, just shorter than the ovary floral bracts and carrying small, brownish green. glabrous flowers.
Similar to S pollex but it has acute, ovate leaves and a deeper more concave synsepal. Recognized by its repent habit, the unequal sepals and its peculiar pointed lip.
Synonyms
References > W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
* Fol. Orchid. 8: 17 Lindley 1859
Native Ecuadorian Orchids Vol 5 Dodson 2004 photo ok;
Orchidaceae Stelis Swartz A Compendium Duque 2008 drawing fide;
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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