Microepidendrum subulatifolium
| Microepidendrum subulatifolium | ||||||||||||
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Microepidendrum subulatifolium |
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Microepidendrum | ||||||||||||
| Brieger ex WEHiggins | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Microepidendrum subulatifolium | ||||||||||||
| ( A.Rich. & Galeotti ) WEHiggins |
The orchid Microepidendrum subulatifolium is the only species in the genus Microepidendrum . The plant was described as Epidendrum subulatifolium as early as 1845 and was placed in its own genus in 2002, although this is not undisputed. The small plants grow epiphytically and are native to the dry forests of Mexico.
description
Microepidendrum subulatifolium forms sprouts on a creeping rhizome at a short distance . These are thin and one to eight inches high. They consist of several internodes . At the upper end of the pseudobulbs there are two to three leaves . The stiff, pointed leaves are almost round in cross-section, with a groove on the top, three to twelve centimeters long with a diameter of up to three millimeters.
The inflorescence is usually unbranched and appears at the tip of the shoot. It becomes up to 25 centimeters long and has few flowers . The sepals are elongated-oval and pointed at the end, the petals are much narrower. The lip is colored white, the other petals yellowish-brown. The undivided lip is fused with the column , the free part is curved in a semicircle, crinkled on the edge and provided with a three-keeled yellow callus in the middle. The dark red column is short and straight, it contains four pollinia , two of which are combined into a pair with a small stalk. The oval fruit capsule reaches a size of around twelve by five millimeters.
distribution
Microepidendrum subulatifolium grows as an epiphyte in dry oak forests. There are deposits in the Mexican states of Guerrero , Jalisco , Michoacán and Oaxaca .
Systematics
Within the subfamily Epidendroideae , the genus Microepidendrum is classified in the tribe Epidendreae and there in the subtribe Laeliinae . Microepidendrum is not particularly closely related to epidendrum . A genetic analysis showed this genus to be the sister taxon of all remaining Laeliinae.
supporting documents
- Wesley E. Higgins: Validation of Microepidendrum (Orchidaceae: Laeliinae) . In: Acta Botanica Mexicana. 60. 2002, 19-24.
Web links
Wikispecies: Microepidendrum subulatifolium - Species directory