Appearance
The leaves are shaped like a lance head and arranged in a fan. Unlike other similar orchids, "E. pusilla" never develops lengthwise folded leaves or extra storage organs.The blooming season is from fall to spring. It produces solitary light-yellow orchid-shaped flowers. In comparison to the overall plant size, these flowers can reach a relatively large size. The lateral sepals are united near the flower base.
Compared to other orchids, "E. pusilla" has a short life cycle. It can reach adulthood in just one season, while the majority of the orchids reach maturity in up to 5 years.
Naming
It is commonly known as the tiny psygmorchis, due to its miniature size.The current scientific name is "Erycina pusilla". The etymology of its scientific name refers to its beauty and tiny size: "“Erycina”" is a byname of the Roman goddess for beauty, Venus, and " “pusilla” " is Latin meaning “very little”. It was formerly classified in the genus "Psygmorchis", due to its fan-shaped leaves.
Distribution
"Erycina pusilla" can be found in the neotropical region, including South and Central America, the southern Mexican lowlands, the Caribbean islands and southern Florida.Habitat
Its habitat consists of humid forests at elevations of 500 to 950 metres with temperatures varying from warm to hot. Like many orchids, "E. pusilla" grows harmlessly upon other plants. It gets moisture and nutrients from the surroundings without affecting the host plant.Its quick development permits this orchid to grow on relatively short-lasting sites such as twigs or even leaves of bushes and trees, such as coffee plant or hibiscus. For this reason, it is usually classified as a twig epiphyte.
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