Lepanthes deleastes

I got this plant from Andy's Orchids without a name as Lepanthes sp in November 2017.  It was growing and flowering well, but it declined during our summer vacation in 2018.  I set up automatic misting since we were away for almost 1 month, but somehow, this plant wasn't getting enough water.  It was left with only 2 leaves or so, but it did recover fairly quickly (the photo of the whole plant is taken before this incident, but the plants are getting closer to the original size now).  I have been growing it at the cool-end of intermediate; max/min daily temperature of 29/18C (84/65F) in the summer and 21/13C (70/55F) in the winter.  In the summer time, it is less happy, but this species seems to be able to handle fairly warm condition (for Lepanthes).

There are so many species in this genus, so it is tedious to look for the identification, but I finally decided to spend a bit of time to find the identification of this plant.  I think it is Lepanthes deleastes.

The lip, surrounding the column, extends further down, relative to the column, and the tips are pointy.  It is a bit difficult to see, but you can see hairs at the lower edges of the lip, facing the column.  This feature is seen in the illustration of L. deleastes but not in others.

This is a different flower (of the same plant) from the previous photo, and the right petal is a bit damaged.  Unlike the previous photo, you can see that the  tip of the column (anther cap) is only slightly shorter than the points of the lip.  

Note the appendage of the lip, sticking down toward the sepal from under the column.  It is hairy like a small brush, and I think that it corresponds to the mid-lobe of the lip.  The side lobes of the lip are the shield-like structures, which surround the column.  Also, the ovary and the column seems are aligned in a straight line.

The appendage of the lip can be seen under the column.

Adaxial surface (top side) of the leaf.  It is purplish (I can kind of see the reticulation) with green  margin.  Most of the time the flowers under the leaves, but as you can see here, they can be on the top side.

Abaxial surface (bottom side) of the leaf is green.

© Missouri Botanical Garden. 1996. Lepanthes deleastes Luer. Swiss Orchid Foundation at the Herbarium Jany Renz. Botanical Institute, University of Basel, Switzerland.

Here is the measured sizes of the parts from my plants.

• ramicaul: 5-7cm long, 7-8 sheats
• leaf 30 mm long x 16mm wide
• peduncle (stem of the inflorescent): 15mm to the first (bottom) flower, pedicel 2mm, distance between pedicels about 0.5mm
• seapl 3-4mm x 2-3mm

Similar species:
When I was looking for the name of my plant, the following species appeared to be somewhat similar, so I gathered a little more info, and compared the illustrations.  I extracted some info from Luer's Icones Pleurothallidinarum, and added a bit of my impression (from the comparison of the illustrations).  The following 3 species are ordered from the most similar to less similar.

Lepanthes sucumbiensis -- Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol. 29, p. 216, Fig 329

© Missouri Botanical Garden. 2007. Lepanthes sucumbiensis Luer & Hirtz. Swiss Orchid Foundation at the Herbarium Jany Renz. Botanical Institute, University of Basel, Switzerland.

• ramicaul: 3-6cm long, 8-9 sheaths
• leaf: 20-30mm long x 14-18mm wide
• sepals: microscopically denticulate, 2.6mm long x 1.6mm wide
• color: he sepals are yellow, suffused with purple,  petals are orange, and the lip is orange with red margins.
• From Sucumbíos Province, northern Ecuardor.

My notes about the comparison against L. deleastes:

• Facing the flower from the front, you can see the plate of the lip extends lower than the tip of the anther cap than other similar species (including the illustration of L. deleastes), and the tips are pointy.  In this regard, it is similar to my plants.  But the side lobes of the lip, which form the shield, don't have any hairs.
• The hairy appendage (equivalent to the midlobe) of the lip seems to be smaller than my plants or the illustration of L. deleastes.
• When you compare the profile views of the lips (the bottom left in each figure), the end closer to the ovary seems to be less elevated, so the lip shield is really close to the column.  This seems to make the surface of the lip shield to be more parallel to the column.
• Relatively stout ramicauls and minutely reticulated leaves according to Luer, but it is difficult to tell how stout it is from the illustration.

 

Lepanthes popayanensis -- Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol. 32, p. 175, Fig. 230 (p. 278).  Original description with illustrations (link).

© Missouri Botanical Garden. 2010. Lepanthes popayanensis Luer & R.Escobar. Swiss Orchid Foundation at the Herbarium Jany Renz. Botanical Institute, University of Basel, Switzerland.

• ramicaul: 4-5cm long, 6-8 sheaths
• leaf: 3-4cm long x 0.9-1.4cm wide
• sepal: margins: smooth, 3.75mm long x 2mm wide
• color: Luer mentioned that L. popayanensis resembles L. plectilis.  I have not found the photo of neither species, but L. plectilis has yellow sepals, orange petals, and orange-brown lip.
• From Popayán, southern Colombia

My notes about the comparison against L. deleastes:

• No mention of flower color, so I'm not sure if this species is similar to L. deleastes, but the shape of floral parts are somewhat similar to my plant.
• Leaves seem to be narrower and longer than L. deleastes.
• The internodes between the successive flowers appear to be more distant, and it forms zig-zag pattern.  This is contrast to my plant with dense flowers (about 0.5mm between the internodes of pedicels).
• The shape of the petal is slightly different from mine.  When you look at the outer lines of the top and bottom lobes of the petal, they are connected by 140-150 degree angle.  Mine is more or less 180 degree.
• Ovary and column is not aligned in a straight line, and there seems to be a bend in the ovary.  This is different from my plant.

Lepanthes dictyota -- Icones Pleurothallidinarum Vol. 31, p. 17, Fig. 17 (p.51).

© Missouri Botanical Garden. 2009. Lepanthes dictyota Luer & R.Vásquez. Swiss Orchid Foundation at the Herbarium Jany Renz. Botanical Institute, University of Basel, Switzerland.

• ramicaul: 4-8cm long, 8-10 sheaths
• Leaf: purple-reticulated, 4-5.5cm long x 1.6-2.1cm wide
• Sepals 3.5mm long x 2.5-3mm wide, margins minutely denticulate
• color: Sepals are yellow and suffused with purple.  Dorsal sepal purple with yellow margin. petals are red-orange,  and the lip is yellow, suffused with red-orange.
• From Central-Western Bolivia.

My notes about the comparison against L. deleastes:

• The color scheme is similar to L. deleastes, but larger plant with possibly larger flowers than L. deleastes.
• The lip doesn't seem to extend lower.  So the tip of the anther cap is sticking out.
• The lateral sepals have longer, pointier "tails" than L. deleastes. 
• While sepals have jagged (denticulate) margins in this species, but L. deleastes seems to have much smoother edge.
• The internodes between the successive flowers appear to be more distant.
• Overall, it is quite different.

Literature cited:

• Luer, C. A.  1996. Icones Pleurothallidinarum XIV. The genus Lepanthes subgenus Lepanthes in Ecuador (Orchidaceae). Monographs in Systematic Botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden, 61(3), 1-255.
• Luer, C. A.  2007. Icones Pleurothallidinarum XXIX. A Third Century of Stelis of Ecuador, Systematics of Apoda-Prorepentia, Systematics of Miscellaneous Small Genera, Addenda New Genera, Species and Combinations (Orchidaceae). Monographs in Systematic Botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden, 112, 1-130. (Link to Full Text)
• Luer, C.A.  2010. Icones Pleurothallidinarum XXXI: Lepanthes of Bolivia; Systematics of Octomeria Species North and West of Brazil; Addenda and Corrigenda. Monographs in Systematic Botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden, 120, 1-154 (Link to Full Text)
• Luer, C. A., & Thoerle, L.  2012. Icones Pleurothallidinarum XXXII. Lepanthes of Colombia (Orchidaceae). Monographs in Systematic Botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden, 123, 1-300 (Link to Full Text)