Galapagos Species Database

The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.

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Prescottia oligantha (Sw.) Lindl.

orquidea, small prescott orchid, small florwered orchid

Terrestrial plant to 40 cm tall, flower minute, with dorsal sepal and petals reflexed; with fleshy roots covered in soft hairs and slender spikes. The lip is fleshy and the column is short (Wiggins and Porter, 1971).

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Plantae

Phylum
Magnoliophyta

Class
Liliopsida (= Monocotyledoneae)

Order
Asparagales

Family
Orchidaceae

Genus
Prescottia

Species
oligantha

Taxon category: Accepted

Syn.: Cranichis micrantha Spreng. Order changed from Orchidales to Asparagales (updated by: J.Villalba 2022).

Origin: Native

Distribution

Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.

Distribution: The native range of this species is S. Florida to Tropical America (POWO, 2023).

References

  • Adsersen, H. (s.a.) Field notes, 1974 and 1977 collections Charles darwin Research Station, unpublished Manuscript.
  • Garay, L.A. (1978) 225(1). Orchidaceae (Cypripedioideae, Orchidoideae, Neottioideae). Flora del Ecuador 9: 1–305.
  • Luer, C.A. (1972) The Orchids of the Galápagos Islands. Bull. Amer. Orchid Soc. 41: 868-872.
  • Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (2022) Plants of the world online POWO (2022): Plants of the world online. Published on the Internet; Https://powo.science.kew.org/
  • Stevens, W.D. Ulloa, C., Pool, A., & Montiel, O.M. (2001) Flora de Nicaragua. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 85: i–xlii, 1–2666.
  • Van der Werff, H.H. (s.a.) Pers. obs. and colls. Personal observations and collections.
  • Wiggins, I.L. Porter, D.M. (1971) Flora of the Galapagos Islands Standford University Press, Stanford.

You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.

This page should be cited as follows:

"Galapagos Species Database, Prescottia oligantha", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=1027. Accessed 3 November 2026.