Amesiella minor explained

Amesiella minor is the smallest species of the genus Amesiella. These miniature epiphytic orchids are native to the Philippines.^{[1] [2] [3]}

Ecology and habitat

This species grows on the island of Luzon at heights of 1200 m a.s.l.^{[4] [5]}

Discovery

It was described by the German botanist Karlheinz Senghas in 1999.^[4]

Description

These miniature, cool-growing, monopodial herbs form small, leathery leaves.^[6] Amesiella has white flowers with long spurs.^[7] The morphology of the spur suggests moth pollination.^[8] The flowers have two gold coloured, vertical stripes on the lateral lobes of the labellum, which is similar to Amesiella philippinensis. The flowers of Amesiella minor are considerably smaller, which is also referred to in the specific epithet "minor", which means "small" in Latin.^[9] Up to 5 flowers^[5] with short spurs are formed on 7 cm^[5] long racemes.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Amesiella minor Senghas | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science. Plants of the World Online.
2. Web site: Amesiella minor Senghas - Encyclopedia of Life. eol.org.
3. Agoo, E. M. G. (2007). Status of orchid taxonomy research in the Philippines. Philippine Journal of Systematic Biology, 1(1), 73-98.
4. Web site: Amesiella minor | International Plant Names Index. www.ipni.org.
5. IOSPE PHOTOS. (n.d.). Retrieved October 2, 2022, from http://www.orchidspecies.com/amesminor.htm
6. Teoh E.S. (2021) Amesiella Schltr. ex Garay. In: Orchid Species from Himalaya and Southeast Asia Vol. 1 (A - E). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58872-4_9
7. Eur. J. Entomol. 112(2): 393–397, 2015doi: 10.14411/eje.2015.031ISSN 1210-5759 (print), 1802-8829 (online)
8. Genera Orchidacearum Volume 6: Epidendroideae (Part 3)Alec M. Pridgeon / Phillip J. Cribb / Mark W. Chase / Finn N. Rasmussen2014OUP OxfordISBN 978-0-19-100389-9
9. minor- Latein-Deutsch Übersetzung im Latein-Wörterbuch von Navigium. (n.d.). Retrieved October 2, 2022, from https://www.navigium.de/latein-woerterbuch/minor?nr=null