Epidendrum compressum Griseb. 1864 Photo courtesy of Ecuagenera and theirOrchid Website

Side View of Flower Photo courtesy of Carlos Hajek and his Peruvian Orchid Page

Flowers Photo courtesy of Patricia Harding

to LATE EARLY

Common Name The Compressed Epidendrum

Flower Size 2/5" [1 cm]

Found in Trinidad, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia in wet montane forests as a small sized, hot to warm growing epiphyte at elevations around 110 to 1700 meters with basally terete, dilated and compressed above stems enveloped completely by close, imbricate, conduplicate sheaths that are articulated and leaf bearing towards the apex carrying 3 to 4 elliptic, basally conduplicate, acute-acuminate leaves that orient to the same plane and blooms in nature in the winter and early spring on a terminal, erect then arching, 8 to 16" long, laxly paniculate, several flowered inflorescence arising on a mature stem and having 3 close, triangular bracts that diminish in size and minute floral bracts.

Synonyms Epidendrum guentherianum Kraenzl. 1928; Epidendrum laxum Poepp. & Endl. 1837-38; Epidendrum macrothyrsis F. Lehm. & Kraenzl. 1899; Epidendrum yatapuense Barb. Rodr. 1891; Minicolumna laxa Brieger 1976 ; Minicolumna yatapuensis (Barb.Rodr.) Brieger 1976

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Venezuelan Orchids Vol 2 Dunsterville & Garay 1961; Flora de Venezuela Foldats Volumen XV Part 3 1970; Fieldiana Biology, Vol 33, 1st Supple. to the Orchids of Peru Scweinfurth 1970; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum plate 529 Dodson 1982; Native Colombian Orchids Vol 5 COS 1994; Icones Orchidacearum Peruviarum plate 456 Bennett & Christenson 1998; Native Ecuadorian Orchids Vol 2 Dodson 2002; Orchids of Bolivia Vol 2 Laelinae Vasquez and Ibisch 2004

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