Amesiella Explained

Amesiella is a genus of orchids endemic to the Island of Luzon, in the Philippines.^[1]

Taxonomy

Previously it was believed that the species of this genus belonged to the genus Angraecum within the subtribe Angraecinae. ^[2] The genus is named for Oakes Ames (1874-1950), founder of the orchid herbarium at Harvard University.^[3]

Description

These short-stemmed, miniature epiphytes form elliptic, coriaceous, distichous leaves. White flowers with pronounces spurs, indicating moth pollination, are formed on short, axillary racemes. ^[4]

overview of species characteristics

photograph	species	spur length	fragrance	colouration	altitude
	A. philippinensis	longer	absent	yellow throat of labellum	lower (400 - 1400 m a.s.l.)^[5]
	A. monticola	longest	present	pure white	higher (1800 - 2200 m a.s.l.)^[6]
	A. minor	short	absent	vertical yellow stripes on lateral lobes of labellum	intermediate to high (1200 m a.s.l.^[7] or 1000-2000 m a.s.l.^[8])

Species

As of May 2014, three species were recognized:^[1]

• Amesiella minor Senghas (1999)
• Amesiella monticola Cootes & D.P.Banks (1998)
• Amesiella philippinensis (Ames) Garay (1972)

Notes and References

1. http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=7931 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
2. Angraecum philippinense Ames, Philipp. J. Sci., C 2: 336 (1907).
3. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/7467228#page/182/mode/1up Schlechter, Friedrich Richard Rudolf ex Garay, Leslie Andrew. 1972. Botanical Museum Leaflets of Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 23: 159
4. Genera Orchidacearum Volume 6: Epidendroideae (Part 3) Alec M. Pridgeon / Phillip J. Cribb / Mark W. Chase / Finn N. Rasmussen 2014 OUP Oxford ISBN 978-0-19-100389-9
5. Amesiella philippinensis (Ames) Garay 1972. (n.d.). IOSPE PHOTOS. Retrieved October 3, 2022, from http://www.orchidspecies.com/amesiellaphillipinesis.htm
6. Amesiella monticola J.E. Cootes et D.P. Banks 1998. (n.d.). IOSPE PHOTOS. Retrieved October 3, 2022, from http://www.orchidspecies.com/amesmonticola.htm
7. Web site: Amesiella minor | International Plant Names Index. www.ipni.org.
8. Xie, J. (2018, September 24). Amesiella minor 小埃姆斯蘭. 蘭花的故事. Retrieved October 3, 2022, from https://orchid-story.blogspot.com/2018/09/amesiella-minor.html