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The following article was written for the
Orchid Species Bulletin published by the Orchid Species Society,
which is based in Brisbane, Queensland in November 2004.
A miniature plant, Sgmx. eliae has clustered ovoid-oblong, flattened pseudobulbs that are 2-3 cm long and 1-1.5 cm broad.
Sheathed by 1-2 pairs of alternating leaf-bracts at the base, the pseudobulbs bear one (sometimes two) oblong to narrowly elliptic-oblong leaf at the apex.
Folded together at the base, the thin leaves are 5-11 cm long and 8-15 mm broad.
Dark green on the upper surface, the underside of the leaves and exposed portion of the pseudobulbs is reddish-purplish.
Long slender inflorescences that are 17-25 cm long are produced from the base of the maturing pseudobulb.
The upright to spreading raceme bears 10-18 alternating flowers at 1 cm intervals.
Distributed on the eastern slope of the Andes from eastern Colombia, Ecuador and northern Peru,
Sgmx. eliae is an intermediate- to cool-growing species.
It grows as an epiphyte in wet montane forests. Plants require about 70% shade and a small container with a well-drained medium.
Good air circulation is important at all times with high humidity. Water it regularly so that the roots never remain dry for long periods.
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Sigmatostalix eliae Rolfe
is a member of tropical American genus that belongs to the Oncidieae tribe, which we rarely see in south-east Queensland.
Robert Rolfe described Sgmx. eliae in the Bulletin of Miscellaneous
Information, Royal Botanic Garden, Kew in 1908.
Non-resupinate with the lip uppermost, the flowers of
Sgmx. eliae all face one side and look like lined-up soldiers.
The flowers have reflexed pale green to yellow sepals and petals that are marked with mahogany-red to red-brown in the lower two-thirds.
Its stalked semi-circular lip is bright yellow with the basal half mahogany-red to brown. The long greenish column is encircled or spotted by red to brown lines.