Orchid Species: Lepanthes kabebatae

ORIGIN: Found in Cartago Costa Rica in primary forests and in very wet premontane forests at elevations around 1450 meters.

DESCRIPTION: Small sized, cool growing epiphyte with erect to suberect, stems enveloped completely by 8 to 11 minutely ciliate, blackish leapanthiform sheaths and carrying subcoriaceous, green above purple beneath, elliptic to narrowly ovate, acute to acuminate, with an apiculus, cuneate and narrowing below into tthe petiolate base leaf that blooms in the late spring through mid fall on racemose, distichous, arising beneath the leaf, shorter than the leaf, to 1.8" [4.5 cm] long, overall, peduncle to .8" [2 cm] long, rachis to 1" [2.5 cm] long, successively single, several flowered inflorescence with a ciliate, ovate, acuminate, conduplicate, membraneous, muriculate floral bract. "Lepanthes kabebatae is one of the largest species of the genus in Costa Rica, with plant up to 20 cm tall. The flowers of L. kabebatae are similar to those of L. elegans, but the former can be recognized by the wider petals 5.6-8 mm (vs. up to 5 mm) with the upper lobe oblong-ovate (vs. widely ovate) and the lower lobe narrowly ovate (vs. obliquely triangular), the microscopically ciliate lip (vs. long ciliate lip towards the apex) and the large appendix (vs. reduced to a tuft of cilia). The color of the flowers is also different; in L. kabebatae the petals are yellow, basally stained with scarlet (vs. yellow with a red stain in the middle of the upper lobe and along the external margins) and the lip is scarlet (vs. yellow). The size and habit of L. kabebatae are similar to those of L. atrata Endrés ex Luer, L. barbosae Luer, L. daniel-jimenezii Bogarín & Pupulin, L. ferrelliae Luer and L. guardiana Endrés ex Luer. However, the new species lacks the thick, protuberant body of the lip present in all those species." Bogarin, Karremans and Fernandez.

FLOWER SIZE: 0.2 inches [5 mm] -- information provided by Jay Pfahl, author of the Internet Orchid Species Encyclopedia (IOSPE).