Stelis tridentata Lindl. 1859 SECTION Stelis

Photo by Ecuagenera and their Ecuador Orchid Website

Drawing

Drawings by © Carl Luer

Drawing of S ferax

Drawing of S ferax by © Carl Luer

LATE EARLY

Common Name The Three Toothed Stelis [refers to the tridentate apex of the leaf]

Flower Size .12" [3 mm]

I am fairly sure of this photo determination.

Found in Cartago province of Costa Rica, Venezuela, Colombia and Pichincha and Carchi provinces of Ecuador in rainforests at elevations of 2000 to 2600 meters as a miniature to small sized, cold growing, caespitose epiphyte with erect to prolific ramicauls enveloped by 2 to 3 tubular sheaths and carrying a single, apical, erect, coriaceous, elliptical-oblong, obtuse, tridenticulate, attenuate below into the petiolate base leaf that blooms in the late summer and early fall on 1 to 2, arising through an arcuate spathe, as long or slightly longer than the leaf, racemose, distichous, lightly flexuous, 2.8 to 6" [7 to 15 cm] long including the 1.6 to 2.8" [4 to 7 cm] long peduncle, laxly several flowered inflorescence with cucullate, acuminate, wide, shorter than the ovary floral bracts and carrying yellow-white flowers that are glabrous externally and pubescent within.

Vegetatively this species is easily recognized by the repent habit, ascending ramicauls and long-petiolate, broadly ellipitcal leaves that are tapered at both ends. The raceme od nmerous small flowers, with broadly ovate, pubescent sepals exceeds the leaf. The type "C" lip has a minute spicule on the margin as seen in S argentata. Luer 2009

Synonyms Stelis elliptica Ames & C.Schweinf. 1925; Stelis ferax Luer & Hirtz 2002; Stelis leptophylla Schltr. 1923

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;

*Fol. Orchid. 8: 6 Lindley 1859

Repert. Sp. Nov. Regni. Veg. Beih. 19: 174. Costa Rica Schlechter 1923 as Stelis leptophylla;

Schedul. Orchid. 8: 16 Ames 1925 as S elliptica;

Venezuelan Orchids Illustrated Vol 4 Dunsterville & Garay 1966 drawing good;

AOS Bulletin Vol 36 No 9 1967;

Flora de Venezuela Volumen 15 Parte 2 Foldats 1970 drawing ok;

Orchids of Venezuela, An Illustrated Field Guide Vol 3 Dunsterville & Garay 1979 drawing good;

Orchids of Venezuela [An illustrated field guide] Vol. 3 Ramiro and Carnevali 2000 drawing good;

Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol XXIV A First Century of Stelis of Ecuador Luer 2002 as S ferax

Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol XXIV A First Century of Stelis of Ecuador Luer 2002 as S ferax drawing fide;

Manual de Plantas de Costa Rica Vol 3 Hammel, Grayum, Herrera and Zamora 2003;

Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana Vol 7 Steyermark, Berry, Yatskievych and Holst 2003;

Orchidaceae Stelis Swartz A Compendium Duque 2008 drawing goood;

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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