Pleurothallis nephroglossa Schltr. 1921 SUBGENUS Pleurothallis SECTION Macrophyllae-Fasciculatae Lindl 1859
Photo by © Ron Parsons
Drawing by © Carl Luer
THROUGH 
Common Name The Kidney Shaped Tongue Pleurothallis
Flower Size .8" [2 cm]
Found in Pichincha, Napo, Marona-Santiago and Zamora-Chinchipe provinces of Ecuador at elevations around 2750 to 3100 meters as a small sized, cold growing, caespitose epiphyte with stout, suberect to horizontal, thickly coriaceous, oblong-ovate, obtuse to acute, shortly acuminate, cordate intothe sessile base leaf that blooms in the winter through spring on a .2" [5 mm] long, arising and enveloped completely through a reclining spathe, single, sometimes 2 to simultaneously flowered inflorecence with a shorter than the pedicel floral bract.
"Distinguished by the large, thick, oblong, shortly acuminate leaf and 1 to 3 large, fleshy, simultaneous flowers. The floral parts vary considerably with the variations found at random among the collections. The sepals vary form .8 to 1.4" [2 to 3 cm] long, from narrowly to broadly ovate. The petals are fleshy, broad and coarsely papillose. The similarly papillose lip is tranversely suborbicular-elliptical to reniform, broadly rounded at the convex apex and concave between cordate angles at the base." Luer 2005
Synonyms Acronia nephroglossa (Schltr.) Luer 2005; Zosterophyllanthos nephroglossus (Schltr.) Szlach. & Kulak 2006
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
*Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 8: 61 Schlechter 1921;
Native Native Ecuadorian Orchids Vol 4 2003 photo fide;
Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol XXVII Systematics of Dryadella Systematics of Macrophyllae-Fasciculatae Luer 2005 as Acronia nephroglossa drawing fide;
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