Epidendrum blepharoclinium Rchb. f. 1877 GROUP Amphyglottis SUBGROUP Glossaspis
Photo by © G. C. Kennedy and courtesy of Eric Hagsater
Photo by Lourens Grobler ©
TYPE Drawing by © Jimenez, Hágsater & E.Santiago and The AMO Herbario Website
Common Name The Fringed Clinandrium Epidendrum
Flower Size 1.6" [4 cm]
Found in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru at elevations of 800 to 1800 meters as a large to giant sized, cool to cold growing terrestrial with simple, cane-like, terete, erect, straight stems carrying numerous, distichous, distributed throughout the stem, alternate, articulate, sheaths tubular, minutely striated; blade narrowly elliptic-lanceolate to lanceolate-oblong, apex sub-obtuse, coriaceous leaves that blooms in the summer and fall on a terminal, racemose, 12 to 20" [30-50 cm] long, peduncle elongate, terete, provided with several , tubular, acute, partly imbricating bracts, brown, producing new racemes with time and thus pluri-racemose, each raceme compact, densely, successively 7 to 10 can be open at one time, many flowered inflorescence with much shorter than the ovary, triangular, acute, clasping floral bracts and carrying non-resupinate, pink, rarely white, non-fragrant flowers.
"Epidendrum blepharoclinium belongs to the GROUP Amphyglottis SUBGROUP Glossaspis which is recognized by the caespitose habit, simple stems, leaves oblong-lanceolate, coriaceous, bilobed and elongate peduncle of the erect, racemose inflorescence, the flowers non-resupinate, the callus simple, elongate, fleshy, sulcate towards the base. The species is recognized by the relatively large flowers, pink-purple flowers (rarely white, as per photograph published by Fiske), with a large complicated white callus; sepals and petals .84 to 1.04" [21 to 26 mm] long, both equally wide, .16" [4 mm]; the mid-lobe rhombic, about as wide as it is long. Epidendrum glossaspis Rchb.f. also has pink purple flowers, with the large, simple, white callus, flowers large, sepals 1.04 to .35" [26 to 33 mm] long, straight, the petals straight, linear-triangular .04" {1 mm] wide at the base, and the lip formed by 3, sub-parallel lobes, the lateral lobes about half as long as the entire lip, sub-rhombic, acuminate. It very much resembles Epidendrum mainauanum, which is superficially similar, with flowers entirely white, sepals .88" [22 mm] long, and has shorter subquadrate lateral lobes that are only about ¼ the length of the entire lip. Epidendrum vinosum Schltr. has pale wine-colored flowers, sepals and petals .68" [17 mm] long, oblong, apex obtuse to sub-truncate, the lip reminiscent of a three-corner hat, the lateral lobes retrorse, and with a large white callus, covering most of the mid-lobe. Epidendrum hookerianum Rchb.f. is similar but the sepals and petals are very narrow, the lateral lobes are semi-ovate, deeply fimbriate towards the apex of the outer margin, and the mid-lobe is linear-lanceolate, the margin sub-dentate and has a mid-rib running down the middle." Hagsater etal 2018
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Native Ecuadorian Orchids vol 2 Dodson 2001 photo fide; Orchid Species of Peru Zelenko Bermudez 2009 photo fide; Orquideas, Tesoro de Colombia Vol 2 Ortiz & Uribe 2017 photo fide; Icones Orchidacearum 16(1) Plate 1606 Hagsater etal 2018 drawing/photo fide; Icones Orchidacearum 16(1) plate 1620 Hagsater etal 2018 in recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 16[1] Plate 1639 Hagsater 2018 See recognition section AOS Bulletin Vol 88 # 1 2019 photo fide; * Icones Orchidacearum 18(2) Plate 1855 Hagsater & Jimenez 2021 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 18(2) Plate 1898 Hagsater & Jimenez 2021 see recognition section
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