TROPICAL AMERICAN ORCHIDS 
7. 3, petal X 4. 4, flower, side view X 3 3^. .5, labellum, 
front view X 7.] 
Cuba, Sur de Oriente y Pico Turquino, Hno. Leon 
10790, July 1922. (Type in Herb. N. Y. Bot. Card.) 
Pleurothallis rectipetala A. & S. sp. nov. Herba 
mediocris. Caules monophylli, interne univaginati. Folium 
patens vel deflexum, lanceolato-ovatum, valde cordatum, 
acuminatum. Pedunculi perbreves, uniflori, vagina cylin- 
dracea omnino inclusi. Flores pro sectione parvi. Sepala 
similia, rotundato-ovata, lateralia in synsepalum connata. 
Petala oblongo-lanceolata, minute denticulata. Labellum 
ovatum, crassissimum. 
Plant medium-sized. Stem over 21.4 cm. long (base not 
present), with a long tubular close sheath below. Leaf sol¬ 
itary, horizontally spreading or reflexed in the dried speci¬ 
men, lanceolate-ovate, deeply cordate at base, 8.4-11 cm. 
long (including the basal auricles), 3.55-4.6 cm. wide be¬ 
low, long-acuminate, coriaceous, many-nerved. Inflorescences 
several, 1-flowered; peduncles entirely concealed by the sur¬ 
rounding tubular sheath, which is about 1.6 cm. long. 
Flowers exserted beyond the sheath. Lateral sepals connate 
into a round-ovate lamina which is shortly bidentate in 
anthesis, about 8 mm. long, 6.2-7.2 mm. wide, obtuse or 
splitting into two subacute points, prominently 4-nerved with 
two or four secondary nerves. Dorsal sepal round-ovate, 
about 8 mm. long, about 6 mm. wide, 3-nerved, acute. 
Petals oblong-lanceolate, almost straight, 5 mm. long, 
2.1-2.5 mm. wide below, abruptly acute or minutely mu- 
cronate, the margin minutely denticulate. Labellum ovate, 
small, very thick and fleshy, densely papillose, about 3 mm. 
long and 2 mm. wide, obtuse or rounded at the apex. Column 
short and stout, with a very short foot. 
Pleurothallis rectipetala is allied to P. cardiothallis 
Reichb. f. and P. phyllocardia Reichb. f., but differs from 
both in the almost straight petals and in other floral details. 
It has much larger leaves than P. homalanthoides Schltr., 
3-nerved dorsal sepal and not falcate petals. Florally it 
resembles a gigantic form of P. rhodoglossa Schltr. 
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