Restrepiella ophiocephala

Snake's head restrepiella
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Epidendroideae
Tribe: Epidendreae
Subtribe: Pleurothallidinae
Genus: Restrepiella
Species: R. ophiocephala
Binomial name
Restrepiella ophiocephala
(Lindl.) Garay & Dunst.
Synonyms[1]
  • Pleurothallis ophiocephala Lindl.
  • Restrepia ophiocephala (Lindl.) Rchb.f.
  • Pleurothallis peduncularis Hook.
  • Pleurothallis puberula Klotzsch
  • Pleurothallis stigmatoglossa Rchb.f. ex Lindl.
  • Restrepiella ophiocephala f. clausa I.Bock

Restrepiella ophiocephala, commonly called the Snake's head restrepiella is an epiphytic orchid native to Mexico, Central America, Colombia, and Florida.[1][2][3][4][5] The epithet ophiocephala is derived from the Greek words ophis (snake) and cephalos (head).

Restrepiella ophiocephala grows from a short, creeping rhizome as a tufted, robust epiphyte to a length between 8 and 35 cm. The stout, cylindrical stem is erect and about 15 cm long and has a tubular bract. The fleshy, oblanceolate leaves are 8 to 18 cm long and have a short petiole. The tiny single flowers have a length of about 2 cm. They grow from the base of the leaves, one at a time, on up to four clustered inflorescences. They have a pale yellowish-brown color, dotted with dull purple spots. The outer surface is downy. The obovate, dorsal sepal is erect, while the lateral sepals are fused (synsepals) with a small split at their apex. The elliptic petals are much shorter and with ciliated margins. The fleshy lip is tongue-shaped. It occurs in damp forests alongside rivers at low altitude (40-1,600 m). The flowers are in bloom from winter to spring and are strongly scented.[6][7][8][9][10]

References

  1. 1 2 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. ↑ Hammel, B.E. & al. (2003). Manual de Plantas de Costa Rica 3: 1-884. Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis.
  3. ↑ Pridgeon, A.M., Cribb, P.J., Chase, M.C. & Rasmussen, F.N. (2006). Epidendroideae (Part One). Genera Orchidacearum 4: 1-672. Oxford University Press, New York, Oxford.
  4. ↑ Nelson Sutherland, C.H. (2008). Catálogo de las plantes vasculares de Honduras. Espermatofitas: 1-1576. SERNA/Guaymuras, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
  5. ↑ McLeish, I., N. R. Pearce & B. R. Adams. 1995. Native Orchids of Belize. 1–278.
  6. ↑ Garay, Leslie Andrew & Dunsterville, Galfried Clement Keyworth. 1966. Venezuelan Orchids Illustrated Volume 1 4: 266
  7. ↑ Balick, M. J., M. H. Nee & D.E. Atha. 2000. Checklist of the vascular plants of Belize. Memoirs of The New York Botanical Garden 85: i–ix, 1–246.
  8. ↑ CONABIO. 2009. Catálogo taxonómico de especies de México. 1. In Capital Nat. México. CONABIO, México D.F.
  9. ↑ Luer, C. A. 1991. Icones Pleurothallidinarum–VIII. Systematics of Lepanthopsis, Octomeria subgenus Pleurothallopsis, Restrepiella, Restrepiopsis, Salpistele, and Teagueia. Addenda to Platystele, Porroglossum, and Scaphosepalum. Monographs in systematic botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden 39: 1–161.
  10. ↑ Stevens, W. D., C. Ulloa Ulloa, A. Pool & O. M. Montiel. 2001. Flora de Nicaragua. Monographs in systematic botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden 85: i–xlii,.
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