Dwarf Butterfly Orchid

In Florida, flowers of some plants of Prosthechea pygmaea have been reported to be cleistogamous (C. A. Luer 1972).

Plants creeping, to 12 cm. Stems: pseudobulbs spaced 3–4 cm, fusiform, somewhat flattened, slender, 20–40 × 3–8 mm. Leaves 2(–3, rarely), elliptic, 25–55 × 9–13 mm. Inflorescences racemes, sessile, 0.5 cm. Flowers 1–3, resupinate, successive, flowers and fruits may be present with capsules, light yellowish green to green or brownish green; sepals oblanceolate, apex acute; lateral sepals oblique, 5–6 × 2 mm; petals linear, 4 × less than 1 mm, apex acute; lip white with purple blotch on middle lobe, obreniform, middle lobe small, triangular, apex acute, lateral lobes suborbiculate, embracing column, 4 × 2 mm; anthers 1, orange; column white, 2 mm, apex 3-toothed. Capsules 1 cm.

Fla.; Mexico; West Indies; Central America; n South America.

Flowering Oct--Feb; fruiting Feb--May.

In swamps, infrequent but individual plants form large patches; 0--30m.

Epidendrum pygmaeum Hooker, Bot. Mag. 60: plate 3233. 1822; Aulizeum pygmaeum (Hooker) Bentham & Hooker f.; A. pygmaeum (Hooker) Lindley ex Stein; Encyclia pygmaea (Hooker) Dressler; Hormidium pygmaeum (Hooker) Bentham & Hooker f. ex Hemsley