Epidendrum aristatum Ackerman & Montalvo 1986 GROUP Albertii SUBGROUP Allenii

TYPE Drawing by © Jimenez, Hágsater & E.Santiago and The AMO Herbario Website

THROUGH

Common Name The Small Spike Epidendrum [refers to the spiked floral bracts and sepals]

Flower Size .4" [1 cm]

Found in Colombia and Ecuador often in cloud forests at elevations around 230 to 1750 meters as a medium to large sized, hot to cool growing epiphyte with simple, cane-like, terete, laterally compressed, erect, straight stems carrying 8 to 15, in the apical half, alternate, articulate, suberect, narrowly elliptic, acuminate, basally clasping leaves that blooms in the fall through summer on a terminal or lateral, flowering several times from the same inflorescence, the apical: erect, elongate, 2.6 to 4.4" [6.5 to 11 cm] long peduncle, the rachis 1.6 to 3.4" [4 to 8.5 cm] long, the lateral: peduncle, .8 to 1.2" [2 to 3 cm] long, erect, straight, ancipitose, two-winged, the rachis flexuous, successively 5 to 25 flowered inflorescence with shorter than the ovary, ovate, conduplicate, oblique floral bracts and carrying resupinate, yellowish green flowers.

"Epidendrum aristatum belongs to the GROUP Albertii SUBGROUP Allenii , distinguished by the caespitose habit, ancipitous stems, apical inflorescence, the apical peduncle ancipitous to the degree of being two-winged, the raceme subtended by a conduplicate bract at the apex of the peduncle, the floral bracts imbricate, flowers successive, one at a time, with a frequently prominent clinandrium-hood. The species is recognized by the awned sepals and floral bracts, filiform petals, the reniform lip and the prominent, straight clinandrium-hood embracing the large, flat, long and high calli which form an arch within and are barely visible beyond. It has been collected in the same locality as Epidendrum transversovatum Hágsater & Dodson which has a transversely ovate lip, narrowly elliptic, 3-veined petals and the prominent swollen vesicle at the apical half of the ovary; the ovary is short. Epidendrum dactyloclinium Hágsater & Dodson has a prominent three-lobed clinandrium-hood, with the dorsal lobe deeply dentate, the lateral lobes oblong, acute, the lip triangular, the corners rounded, and the petals linear-oblanceolate. Epidendrum nematopetalum Hágsater & Dodson has filiform petals, a cordiform lip and a prominent clinandrium-hood somewhat arched with the margin minutely dentate. Epidendrum tropidioides Garay has large flowers, the sepals .52" [23 mm] long, the petals rhombic and the lip cuneate, with the apex widely rounded, and two very long laminar keels, the margin of the clinandrium-hood is minutely dentate." Hagsater etal 2009

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; *Selbyana 9(1): 126 Ackerman & Montalvo 1986 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 4 plate 493 Hagsater & Sanchez 2001 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 11 Plate 1192 Hagsater 2008 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 12 Plate 1207 Hagsater & Sanchez 2009 drawing fide; Orquideas, Tesoro de Colombia Vol 2 Ortiz & Uribe 2017; Icones Orchidacearum 16[1] Plate 1624 Hagsater / Santiago 2018 See recognition section;

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