Myoxanthus merae (Luer) Luer (1982a: 47)

Rojas-Alvarado, Gustavo, Blanco, Mario A. & Karremans, Adam P., 2021, A taxonomic synopsis and morphological characterization of Myoxanthus (Orchidaceae: Pleurothallidinae), Phytotaxa 507 (3), pp. 211-258 : 241

28. Myoxanthus merae (Luer) Luer (1982a: 47) . (Fig. 15E)

Basionym: Pleurothallis merae Luer (1976b: 144) .

TYPE:— ECUADOR. Pastaza: epiphytic in forest east of Mera , 1000 m, 20 Mar 1976, Luer et al. 682 (holotype: SEL!).

Distribution: — Ecuador and Peru.

Notes:— Myoxanthus merae is a small, caespitose species with slender ramicauls and narrow leaves and producing successive single flowers. It can be recognized by the yellowish flowers with the red to yellowish sepals that are pubescent externally, basally ovate petals then narrower with revolute margins, a red-brownish elliptical, oblong lip, weakly trilobed, with lateral lobes erect below the middle, disc with a pair of longitudinal calli near the centre and a pair of small auricles at its truncate base. Myoxanthus simplicaulis from Venezuela and Guyana has a similar habit and flowers. However, the latter has wider petals with a more pronounced, narrow, thick apical section, more pronounced, oblique lateral lobes of the lip and a pair of longitudinal calli emerging below the middle that extend to the base. Myoxanthus merae had been previously recorded only from Ecuador, but the photograph reproduced here (Fig. 15E) is from a plant collected in Tingo María National Park, Peru.