Stelis triangulisepala C.Schweinf. 1951 SECTION Stelis
TYPE Drawing © by Schweinfurth
Photo courtesy of Prem Subrahmanyam
Common Name The Triangular Sepal Stelis
Flower Size .12" [3 mm]
Found in Huancavelica department of Peru in wet montane forests on mossy trees at elevations of 750 to 2900 meters as a miniature sized, warm to cold growing,caespitose epiphyte with erect, terete ramicauls enveloped basally by 3 loose, tubular, acuminate sheaths and carries a single, apical, elliptic-oblong, basally tapering, minutely tridentate apically, coriaceous, gradually nasrrows below into the cuneate base leaf that blooms in the fall on 1 to 9, erect, arising througha spathe, pedunculate, racemose, 4 to 7.2" [10 to 18 cm] long, several flowered inflorescence with minute, cucllate, obtuse, shorter than the ovary floral bracts and carrying clear-green, glabrous flowers.
"Allied to Stelis hallii but lacks the fractiflex rachis of the raceme, the round ovate sepals and the trilobulate petals of the concept. It is unusual in having the very broad sepals which are sometimes 3 nerved and sometimes 4 nerved." Schweinfurth 1951
CAUTION!! The Drawing is absolutely correct. The Photo Matches Bennett & Christenson's and Duque's drawing in most all respects other than the pilose sepals, so this photo determination is quite suspect. I feel that it is not correct as Schweinfurth says that the flowers are glabrous.
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
* Bot. Mus. Leafl. 15: 22 Schweinfurth 1951
Orchids of Peru Vol 1 Schweinfurth 1958 drawing ok;
Icones Orchidacearum Peruviarum Plate 582 Bennett & Christenson 1998 drawing good;
Orchidaceae Stelis Swartz A Compendium Duque 2008
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