Epidendrum cuicochaense Hágsater & Dodson 2009 GROUP Andean SUBGROUP Cernuum

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

Common Name The Lake Cuicocha Epidendrum [A lake in Ecuador near where the type was collected]

Flower Size 1.2" [3 cm]

Found in southernmost Colombia and Ecuador in the interandean valley and out onto the Pacific coast of the Andes at elevations of 2400 to 3600 meters as a large to giant siozed, cold growing terrestrial with cane-like, terete, erect, straight, branching above, branches shorter than main stem, all enveloped basally by tubular, nonfoliar, striated, rugose sheaths and carrying 12 or more on the main stem, all along the stem, 4 to 5 on the branches, all in the upper half, articulate, erect-spreading, subcoriaceous, oblong, subobtuse, with a short low keel, margin entire leaves that blooms at any time of the year on aterminal, occuring only once, racemose, rarely with a short branch, arching-nutant, peduncle very short, terete, thin, naked, rachis straight, lax, successively 3 to 5, 7 to 30 flowered inflorescence with small, about 1/4 the length of the ovary, triangular-lanceolate, acuminate floral bracts and carrying fleshy, resupinate, apple green flowers, with the sepals slightly tinged with purple.

"Epidendrum cuicochaënse belongs to the GROUP Andean SUBGROUP Cernuum, characterized by the cane-like, sub-apically branched stems, the branches much shorter than the main stem, coriaceous to subcoriaceous leaves and fleshy flowers. The species is recognized by the short, lax, few-flowered inflorescence, resupinate, green flowers, prominently aristate, glabrous sepals .6 to .76" [15 to 19 mm] long, linear-oblanceolate petals, and the 3-lobed lip with small triangular lateral lobes and multiple thickened keels on the whole surface of the lip. Epidendrum pallatangae Schltr. has an elongate, generally paniculate inflorescence, with a sinuous rachis, yellow or greenish yellow flowers, dorsally pubescent sepals, and narrowly obovate petals, with an evident single, much thickened keel that runs to the apex of the lip. Epidendrum megaloclinium Hágsater & Dodson has a dense inflorescence, simultaneous flowers, a very long ovary .68 to 1.6" [17 to 40 mm] long, dorsally pubescent sepals, a very prominent clinandrium-hood, and with 3 evident keels running to the apex of the lip." Hagsater etal

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Icones Orchidacearum 12 Plate 1203 Hagsater 2009 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 12 Plate 1205 Hagsater 2009 see recognition section; *Icones Orchidacearum 12 Plate 1232 Hagsater & Dodson 2009 Drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 12 Plate 1270 Hagsater 2009 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 15 [2] Plate 1592 Hagsater & Sanchez 2016 see recognition section; Orquideas, Tesoro de Colombia Vol 2 Ortiz & Uribe 2017;

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