Stelis hirtella

This tiny little Stelis is from Ecuador.  I received it as an unidentified Stelis from that country.  Someone has suggested that it is Stelis hirtella and and some of the pictures I've seen of that species match, though others do not.  The plant forms a mat of leaves a few centimeters high, has flower spikes that are 5-6 cm in length and that have 4-6 flowers 6 mm in diameter.

Stelis ciliolata 'Leia'

Native to Ecuador, this plant is found at higher elevations and requires cool temperatures in cultivation.  Its name, ciliolata, refers to the striking white "hairs" that fringe the sepals.  The plant is 12 cm tall with flower spikes that grow to about 20 cm.  The spikes carry 15 or more 1.5 cm flowers, several of which may be open at a time, and the spikes bloom over a long period.  The plant, as a result, is seldom out of bloom.  This plant has been awarded a certificate of cultural merit by the American Orchid Society.

Effusiella cypripedioides 'Ashlynn' CCM/AOS

Effusiella cypripedioides goes under quite a few different names.  If I am not mistaken the most current name is Stelis cypripedioides, but it can also be found under the name Pleurothallis cypripedioides.  By any name it is an unusual plant.  The plant itself is around 10cm tall and looks like many other Pleurothallids.  The flower spikes, however are different.  They are pendant and some of them have reached a length of nearly 15cm.  They bloom over a very long period of time, with a number of flowers open on each spike at once.  The 1cm flowers, too, are very unusual, a creamy green spotted with purple.  They do not open widely but the opening and interior of the flower is covered with white hairs.  This plant received a Certificate of Cultural Merit from the American Orchid Society (CCM/AOS) last week at the annual show of the Mount Baker Orchid Society and was awarded under the named Stelis cypripedioides.  The species is from Ecuador and Peru.

Stelis hirtella

These two tiny little Stelis are from Peru and Ecuador, at least if it is correctly identified.  I received the first species (with the purple-centered flowers) as an unidentified Stelis from Ecuador.  Someone has suggested that it is Stelis hirtella and and some of the pictures I've seen of that species match, though others do not.  The second plant, which does not have the purple centers, is also identified as Stelis hirtella, and is similar in plant size and form.  The plants are 3cm tall with 5-6cm flower spikes and 6mm flowers.  Perhaps someone who sees this posts is expert enough to sort these two out, but the Stelis species are notoriously difficult to distinguish.
 

Plant #1

Plant #2

Stelis ciliolata 'Leia' CHM/AOS

This plant and the photos I've taken of have gotten some attention recently.  A close-up of the flowers was used on the cover of the December 2012 issue of Orchids, the magazine of the American Orchid Society.  That is a real honor which I've had only once before and that exactly a year ago (December 2011).  Both the original photo and the cover are shown below.

Last Saturday was the monthly judging of the Pacific Northwest Center, held at the Center for Urban Horticulture at the University of Washington.  If I had known how bad traffic was going to be I probably would have stayed home, but in the end was glad I went.  This plant was given a Certificate of Horticultural Merit at the judging and now has the clonal name 'Leia.'

It was awarded with "approximately 100 dark red-purple successive flowers and 216 buds on 40 mature and 10 immature ... inflorescences," and the description mentioned the "striking color contrast on a floriferous petite plant."  The plant is from Ecuador, blooms faithfully every year at about this time and is grown in a 6 cm clay pot in sphagnum moss with other cool growing orchids.

Stelis glomerosa 'Lucille'

Stelis glomerosa (the name "glomerosa" refers to the ball-shaped flowers), is from Ecuador and belongs to a huge genus of plants whose flowers are often very similar and very small and undistinguished.  This species is different in having larger flowers with a very distinctive shape.  My plant is 5 cm tall, but seems to be getting larger.  It tends to ramble and produce new growths that come from the top of the previous growths, making it impossible to contain in a pot.  The flower spikes reach 10-15 cm and the flowers are slighting more than .5 cm in size.

Stelis ciliolata

Native to Ecuador, this plant is found at higher elevations and requires, therefore, cool temperatures in cultivation.  Its name, ciliolata, refers to the striking white "hairs" that fringe the sepals.  The plant is 12 cm tall with flower spikes that grow to about 20 cm.  The spikes carry 15 or more 1.5 cm flowers, several of which may be open at a time, and the spikes bloom over a long period.  The plant, as a result, is seldom out of bloom.

Elongatia guttata

Known also as Pleurothallis janetiae, Stelis janetiae and Elogatia janetiae, the name at the top of this post is the name under which this attractive species is currently recognized.  It is from Costa Rica and supposed to be warm to hot growing, but does well for me with other cool-temperature Pleurothallids.

My plant is 8cm tall and produces its flowers in succession on thin wiry spikes that tend to be pendant.  The plant for that reason is best grown mounted, though my plant at present is in a pot.  The flowers are close to 2cm tall and are nearly transparent, one of the selling points of this species.

Stelis purpurascens

Stelis purpurascens is a large and robust plant from Mexico, Central and South America.  The plant itself is about 25 cm tall and the flower spikes which come from the joint of leaf and stem add another 20 cm to the height of the plant.  It is really too large for my space and I am going to have to trade or sell it.

The individual flowers are slightly less than 1 cm in size, but their lack of size is made up for by the number of flowers the plant produces, each spike having as many as 75 flowers.  Interestingly, the flowers open and close in the course of day, opening when the lights go on, closing later and then opening again in the afternoon.

Condylago rodrigoi

This species is from Colombia and was first described as Stelis rodrigoi.  The flowers, as can be seen from the photos, are very unusual.  They are only about 1 cm tall, but each spike produces a succession of them, so that the plant is seldom without flowers.  The plant itself looks like a Pleurothallis and is around 8 cm tall.  The flower spikes are unusual in that they are flattened at the ends