Epidendrum ancistronum Hágsater & Dodson 2009 GROUP Mancum SUBGROUP Mancum
Photos © by Roberta Fox
TYPE Drawing by © Jimenez, Hágsater & Dodson and The AMO Herbario Website
EARLIER 
Common Name The Hook Shaped Epidendrum
Flower Size .6" [1.5 cm]
Found in Ecuador on the eastern side of the Andes at elevations of 1800 to 2500 meters as a small to medium sized, cool to cold growing epiphyte with a creeping rhizome giving rise to cane-like, straight, erect, basally terete, laterally compressed above stems newly arising from the lower internodes of the previous stem, and carrying 1 to 4, along the apical 1/3 of the stem, ovate-elliptic, unequally bilobed, aristate, margin entire leaves that blooms in the summer through earlier winter on a terminal, arising through 1 to 2, ancipitous, oblong acute spathaceous bracts, racemose, elongate, generally compact, peduncle erect, about half to 3/4's enveloped by the spathaceous bracts, rachis straight, to 6" [15 cm] long, simultaneously 15 to 27 flowered inflorescence with much shorter than the ovary, triangular, acute, apically shorter floral bracts and carrying non-resupinate flowers with green tepals that are mottled with red brown, the lip and column cream colored.
"Epidendrum ancistronum belongs to the GROUP Mancum SUBGROUP Mancum, which is characterized by the sympodial growth, narrow spathaceous bracts with parallel sides, erect raceme with non-resupinate flowers and a generally reduced, fleshy lip. The species has relatively wide, ovate-elliptic leaves, 2 to 4.4" x 1 to 1.4" [5 to 11 x 2.5 to 3.5 cm], the lip bicallose, with the lateral lobes sub-triangular, falcate, and the midlobe trapezoid to subquadrate. It is very similar to Epidendrum pseudomancum Hágsater & L.Sánchez, from Colombia and Ecuador, which has a similar plant habit but wider leaves, 1.2 to 1.98" [3.0 to 4.8 cm], suborbicular-spatulate petals and an entire, trowel-shaped lip. Epidendrum mancum Lindl. is also endemic to Ecuador, has smaller plants, to 6 to 10" [15 to 25 cm] tall, with similar leaves, but shorter and narrower, .8 to 2.4" x .52 to 1.08" [2 to 6 x 1.3 to 2.7 cm], and an entire, minute lip. Epidendrum microtum (Lindl.) Hágsater & L.Sánchez, found in both Colombia and Ecuador, has larger, narrower, lanceolate-oblong leaves, 2.4 to 6.4" x .72 to 1" [6 to 16 x 1.8 to 2.5 cm], oblanceolate petals, and a 3-lobed lip, the lateral lobes elliptic to subrectangular." Hagsater etal 2009
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; *Icones Orchidacearum 12 plate 1204 Hagsater & Dodson 2009 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 12 Plate 1262 Hagsater 2009 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 17(1) Plate 1710 Hagsater & Jimenez 2019 see recognition section
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