Restrepiella ophiocephala

Description:

Plant blooms from winter to spring with one to four 2 cm flower. 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 is morphologically similar to Restrepia, but differs in lacking hairlike attachments on a mobile lip and having 4 pollinia instead of two. It 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.

Habitat:

This small epiphytic orchid found on the edges of rivers and in the deep shade of the rainforest with rocky substrates.

Notes:

Ixtaczoquitlan found in Veracruz Mexico