Pleurothallis franciana is a species of flowering plant in the family Orchidaceae. It is an epiphyte with leathery leaves and reddish-purple flowers. The species is native to Colombia, and was described in 2023.
Taxonomy Pleurothallis franciana was described by Mario Alexei Sierra-Ariza in 2023. The holotype was collected in 2022, in Ibagué, Tolima, at en elevation of .
Pleurothallis franciana is part of the subsection Macrophyllae-Fasciculatae.
Distribution Pleurothallis franciana is native to the wet tropical biome of Colombia. It was discovered in wet premonate forest, in the Central Cordillera, Tolima.
Description Pleurothallis franciana is an epiphyte. It grows high. The stems are green, long, and have papery, light brown sheaths. The roots are slender, and around high. The leaves are light green, leathery, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, long, and wide.
The inflorescence is a fascicle that grows on a stem. The flowers have stems around long. The dorsal sepal is reddish-purple, with slightly yellow edges, narrowly ovate-lanceolate, long, and . The lateral sepals are yellow, with reddish-purple spots, and fused into an ovate synsepal. The synsepal is long, and wide. The petals are reddish-purple, fleshy, long, and wide. The lip is reddish-purple, fleshy, oblong-lanceolate, long, and wide. The column is reddish-purple. Flowering has been observed in July.
Pleurothallis franciana is similar to Pleurothallis ariana-dayanae, Pleurothallis scabrilinguis, and Pleurothallis applanata.
Etymology Pleurothallis franciana is named for Francia Márquez, the former vice-president of Colombia.
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