Stelis argentataLindl.

WFO wfo-0000315310 Accepted WFO 2026-06 3 photographs CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–c · 2 observations

This species has been photographed under an open licence only 2 times, so some figures below are different views of the same plant, taken on the same day, rather than different individuals. They are usually different parts of it: the leaf, the flower, the bark.

Stelis argentata, photographed by Kai Squires
fig. a Kai Squires, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-05-07 / obs. 195960692
Stelis argentata, photographed by Kai Squires
fig. b Kai Squires, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 113321275
Stelis argentata, photographed by Kai Squires
fig. c Kai Squires, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 113321298

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 18 botanical countries

Regions where Stelis argentata is native: Mexico Gulf, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Bolivia, Brazil North, Brazil Southeast, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panamá, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela Mexico GulfMexico SoutheastMexico SouthwestBoliviaBrazil NorthBrazil SoutheastColombiaCosta RicaEcuadorFrench GuianaGuatemalaGuyanaHondurasNicaraguaPanamáPeruSurinameVenezuela
Native distribution of Stelis argentata, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Bolivia BOL SOUTHERN AMERICA
Brazil North BZN
Brazil Southeast BZL
Colombia CLM
Costa Rica COS
Ecuador ECU
French Guiana FRG
Guatemala GUA
Guyana GUY
Honduras HON
Nicaragua NIC
Panamá PAN
Peru PER
Suriname SUR
Venezuela VEN
Mexico Gulf MXG NORTHERN AMERICA
Mexico Southeast MXT
Mexico Southwest MXS

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 11 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Stelis acicularis Luer
  • Stelis bernoullii Schltr.
  • Stelis endresii Rchb.f.
  • Stelis glandulosa Ames
  • Stelis heylidyana H.Focke
  • Stelis huebneri Schltr.
  • Stelis littoralis Barb.Rodr.
  • Stelis parvibracteata Ames
  • Stelis praesecta Schltr.
  • Stelis violascens Schltr.
  • Stelis yauaperyensis Barb.Rodr.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.