Stellilabium is a small genus in the orchid family (Orchidaceae

Orchidaceae

The Orchidaceae, commonly referred to as the orchid family, is a morphologically diverse and widespread family of monocots in the order Asparagales. Along with the Asteraceae, it is one of the two largest families of flowering plants, with between 21,950 and 26,049 currently accepted species,...

).

The name is derived from the Latin words stella (star) and labium (lip), referring to the star-like bristles on the lip

Labellum

Labellum is the Latin diminutive of labium, meaning lip. These are anatomical terms used descriptively in biology, for example in Entomology and botany.-Botany:...

.

This seldom-seen, neotropical genus occurs from Costa Rica to Venezuela and Western South America as epiphyte

Epiphyte

An epiphyte is a plant that grows upon another plant non-parasitically or sometimes upon some other object , derives its moisture and nutrients from the air and rain and sometimes from debris accumulating around it, and is found in the temperate zone and in the...

s on twigs of guava

Guava

Guavas are plants in the myrtle family genus Psidium , which contains about 100 species of tropical shrubs and small trees. They are native to Mexico, Central America, and northern South America...

 trees in extremely wet tropical forest habitats at elevation between 1400-2500 m.

They are characterized by a short stem

Plant stem

A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant. The stem is normally divided into nodes and internodes, the nodes hold buds which grow into one or more leaves, inflorescence , conifer cones, roots, other stems etc. The internodes distance one node from another...

 with extensive root

Root

In vascular plants, the root is the organ of a plant that typically lies below the surface of the soil. This is not always the case, however, since a root can also be aerial or aerating . Furthermore, a stem normally occurring below ground is not exceptional either...

s, and leaves

Leaf

A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....

 that are folded lengthwise. The lateral inflorescence gives a raceme

Raceme

A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...

 or a panicle

Panicle

A panicle is a compound raceme, a loose, much-branched indeterminate inflorescence with pedicellate flowers attached along the secondary branches; in other words, a branched cluster of flowers in which the branches are racemes....

 with few to many miniature to small (from a few mm. to 1 cm), resupinate flower

Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...

s. The distinct column

Column

A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a vertical structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. For the purpose of wind or earthquake engineering, columns may be designed to resist lateral forces...

 has an elongate, rostellar beak. There are four pollinia

Pollinium

Pollinium, or plural pollinia, is a coherent mass of pollen grains in a plant.They are the product of only one anther, but are transferred, during pollination, as a single unit. This is regularly seen in plants such as orchids and many species of milkweeds .Most orchids have waxy pollinia...

.

Stellilabium jostii practices pollination

Pollination

Pollination is the process by which pollen is transferred in plants, thereby enabling fertilisation and sexual reproduction. Pollen grains transport the male gametes to where the female gamete are contained within the carpel; in gymnosperms the pollen is directly applied to the ovule itself...

 by deceit by imitating the genitalia of a female fly. The hairs are perfectly engineered to stop the airflow of the wings of the fly, so as to stick a maximum of pollen on the fly.

This genus has been split in the past from the genus Telipogon on morphological grounds (smaller flowers than in Telipogon). But, according to N.H. Williams of the University of Florida, this genus should be remerged with the genus Telipogon

Telipogon

Telipogon is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae.- References :*Pridgeon, A.M., Cribb, P.J., Chase, M.A. & Rasmussen, F. eds. . Genera Orchidacearum 1. Oxford Univ. Press....

. He came to this conclusion on genetic grounds (Botany 2005 conference, Austin, Texas)

Species

• Stellilabium aciculare Dressler (1999) (Costa Rica toi Panama)
• Stellilabium alticola Dodson & R.Escobar (1998) (Venezuela to Peru)
• Stellilabium anacristinae Pupulin (2003) (Costa Rica)
• Stellilabium andinum (L.O.Williams) Garay & Dunst. (1979) (Venezuela to Ecuador)
• Stellilabium astroglossum (Rchb.f.) Schltr. (1914) (Ecuador, Peru)
• Stellilabium atropurpureum P.Ortiz (2004) (Colombia)
• Stellilabium barbozae J.T.Atwood & Dressler (1995) (Costa Rica)
• Stellilabium bennettii (Dodson & R.Escobar) Christenson (2001) (Peru)
• Stellilabium bergoldii (Garay & Dunst.) Carnevali & G.A.Romero in G.A.Romero & G.Carnevali (2000) (Venezuela)
• Stellilabium boliviense R.Vásquez & Dodson (1982) (Bolivia)
• Stellilabium bullpenense J.T.Atwood (1989) : Bullpen Orchid (Costa Rica)
• Stellilabium butcheri Dressler (1999). (Panama)
• Stellilabium campbelliorum J.T.Atwood (1989) (Costa Rica)
• Stellilabium erratum Dressler (2001) (Costa Rica)
• Stellilabium fortunae Dressler (1999) (Panama)
• Stellilabium hirtzii Dodson (1984) (Ecuador)
• Stellilabium ibischii R.Vásquez (1998) (Bolivia)
• Stellilabium jostii Dodson (2004) (Ecuador)
• Stellilabium monteverdense J.T.Atwood (1989) (Costa Rica)
• Stellilabium morii Dressler (1999) (Panama)
• Stellilabium pampatamboense Dodson & R.Vásquez (1989) (Bolivia)
• Stellilabium perlobatum Senghas (1994) (Bolivia)
• Stellilabium peruvianum D.E.Benn. & Christenson (1998) (Peru)
• Stellilabium pogonostalix (Rchb.f.) Garay & Dunst. (1961) (Ecuador)
• Stellilabium pseudobulbosum D.E.Benn. & Christenson (1998) (Peru)
• Stellilabium smaragdinum Pupulin & M.A.Blanco (2002) (Costa Rica)
• Stellilabium tsipiriense Pupulin (2003) (Costa Rica)
• Stellilabium vulcanicum Dodson & Hirtz (2004) (Ecuador)