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Restrepia muscifera, commonly known as the fly-carrying restrepia, is a species of orchid.
| Restrepia muscifera | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Orchidaceae |
| Subfamily: | Epidendroideae |
| Genus: | Restrepia |
| Species: | R. muscifera
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| Binomial name | |
| Restrepia muscifera | |
| Synonyms | |
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The epithet 'muscifera' is a Latin word, meaning 'fly bearing'. This is an allusion to the appearance of the flower.
It is a tiny cespitose orchid, occurring from southern Mexico to Colombia, and a few scattered spots in Peru, found in tropical and montane rainforests at altitudes between 300 and 2,400 m.[1]
This epiphytic orchid lacks pseudobulbs. The single, erect, thick, leathery leaf is elliptic-ovate in shape. The aerial roots seem like fine hairs.
The flowers develop one at a time at the base of the leaf and reach a length of about 2.3 cm.[2] They are borne on a slender peduncle, originating from the base of the back of the leaf.
The long dorsal sepal is erect, almost translucent white with dark red dots and ends in a somewhat thicker, yellow club-shaped tip, with minute magenta dots. They have fused lateral sepals (synsepals) with a length of about 2.5 cm and a small split at the end.
These are quite colorful: overall almost translucent white, overlaid with contrasting reddish-purple dots in an ovate line pattern. The long, lateral petals also end in a thickened, yellow club-shaped tip.
The shorter, smooth lip is ovate. It shows the same variations of dark red with magenta dots.
References
edit- ^ "Restrepia muscifera (Lindl.) Rchb.f. ex Lindl". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2023-12-30.
- ^ "Orchid Species: Restrepia muscifera". International Orchid Foundation. Retrieved 2023-12-30.
External links
edit
Media related to Restrepia muscifera at Wikimedia Commons
