TYPE LCDP/TYPE photo by H. Medina and The AMO Herbario Website
LATE 
EARLY
AND AGAIN LATE
EARLY
Common Name The Short Yacuri Epidendrum [in reference to the short plant from the Yacuri Nature reserve]
Flower Size .6" [1.5 cm]
Found in Loja province of Ecuador on the western, dry side of the Andes, in sub-paramo montane forest above Jimbura, Yacurí National Park at elevations of 3000 to 3135 meters as a mini-minature sized, cold growing epiphyte with stems formed by 3 very short internodes, the last a pseudobulb, small, globose, compact, wine-red, homoblastic, covered when young by 2-3 non-foliar, imbricated, embracing, somewhat striated when dry sheaths and lacking in old pseudobulbs carrying at the apex of the pseudobulb, a single, coriaceous, ovate, margin hyaline, erose leaves that blooms in the late winter and early spring and and again in the late summer and early fall on a terminal, without a spathe, peduncle abbreviated, apical, racemose, sessile, simultaneously 4 flowered inflorescence with triangular, acuminate, embracing, much shorter than the ovary floral bracts and carrying resupinate, reddish violet flowers with the concave base of lip somewhat deeper red and the fragrance was not registered.
"Epidendrum breviyacuriense Hágsater, H.Medina & J.Duarte belongs to the GROUP Kalopternix SUBGROUP Serpens characterized by the aggregate, globose pseudobulbs with fleshy-coriaceous leaves, a sessile inflorescence, and one or few fleshy, compact, star-shaped flowers, often burgundy red in color, lip entire, more or less cordiform. The new species is recognized by the wine-red, globose, homoblastic pseudobulbs with a single apical leaf, ovate, .52 to .76" x .24 to .28" [1.3 to 1.9 x 0.6 to 0.7 cm], and the 4 simultaneous flowers, resupinate, reddish-violet, sepals .236 to .24" x 1.04 to 1.28" [5.9 to 6.0 x 2.6 to 3.1 mm], lip widely cordiform, margin irregularly dentate-erose, and disc with a thin mid-rib from the base to the middle of the disc. Epidendrum yacuriense Hágsater & H.Medina has 1 lanceolate acute leaf 1.12 to 2.8" x .4" [2.8 to 7.0 x 1.0 cm], and up to 6 simultaneous wine-red, non-resupinate flowers with the column and margins and apex of sepals pale green, sepals .252 to .268" x .108 to .136" [6.3 to 6.7 x 2.7 to 2.9 mm], disc glabrous. It is vegetatively similar to Epidendrum pachycoleum Hágsater, O.Pérez & E.Santiago, but that species has green pseudobulbs, 2 elliptic leaves .4 to 1 x .02 to .4" [1.0 to 2.5 x 0.5 to 1.0 cm], sepals .28 to .292" [7.0 to 7.3 mm] long, and lip with a prominent mid-rib reaching the apex of the lip. Epidendrum macroillinizae Hágsater, Cisneros & J.Duarte has a single apical leaf, 1.64 to 3.24" x .68 to .72" [4.1 to 8.1 x 1.7 to 1.8 cm], and 2 pink-brown flowers, sepals .6 to .68" [15 to 17 mm] long, reflexed, petals .56" [14 mm] long. Epidendrum platyphylloserpens Hágsater is pendulous with 1 oblong-elliptic leaf 1.28 to 1.88" x ,68 to .88" [3.2 to 4.7 x 1.7 to 2.2 cm], and up to 9 successive reddish brown flowers, sepals 5-veined, .34" [8.5 mm] long. Epidendrum serpens Lindl. has 2 to 3 leaves per pseudobulb, 4 to 5 simultaneous flowers, and a sub-orbicular-ovate lip."Hagsater etal 2020
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Icones Orchidacearum 17(2) Plate 1761 Hagsater & Jimenez 2020 Drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 17(2) Plate 1800 Hagsater & Jimenez 2019 see recognition section;
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