Ceratocentron fessellii

*Still needs a photo of the extraction specimen but posted to provide an example*

Ceratocentron fessellii Senghas, a member of subtribe Aeridinae,  is a diminutive species with crystalline, bright red or orange flowers with a small pale pink labellum*.    Cer. fessellii  has very thick leaves that are about 3/4 of an inch long.  The flowers are a little less than 0.5 inch wide.  Ceratocentron is currently a monotypic genus (only one species).

Image from the website of the National Herbarium of the Netherlands

Only found on Luzon Island in the Philippines, Cer. fessellii has been placed on the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) Red List of Threatened Species due to habitat destruction in its unprotected native range and over collection for sale.  It is considered critically endangered.

Using both plastid and nuclear sequences, Hidayat and co-workers (2005) suggested that Ceratocentron was a member of the “Saccolabium alliance” along with the genera Dyakia, Amesiella, and Tuberolabium.

*Orchids and some other plants have bilaterally symmetrical flowers due to the modification of the third petal into a labellum or lip which, depending on the species, acts to attract the pollinator and/or as a landing pad.

Sources:

http://www.orchidspecies.com/ceratfesseli.htm

http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/46297/0

http://www.nationaalherbarium.nl/pubs/orchidweb/genera/Ceratocentron/Ceratocentron_fesseliiED_ESCN4614.jpg

Hidayat, T., T. Yukawa and M. Ito. 2005.  Molecular phylogenetics of subtribe Aeridinae (Orchidaceae): insights from plastid matK and nuclear ribosomal ITS sequences.  Journal of Plant Research 118: 271-284.