Epidendrum findlingiae Hágsater, Dalström & Ruíz Pérez 2015 GROUP Pseudepidendrum SUBGROUP Paniculatum
Photo by © Stig Dalstrom/TYPE Drawing by Jimenez and The AMO Herbaria Website
LATE 
EARLY
Common Name Findling's Epidendrum [American Orchid Philanthropist current]
Flower Size 1.2" [3 cm]
Found in northern Amazonas province of Peru on the eastern slope of the Cordillera Oriental at elevations of 2200 to 2845 meters as a medium sized, cold growing epiphyte or terrestrial with simple, cane-like, terete, thin, erect, straight stems enveloped basally by non-foliar sheaths and carrying 7 to 11, all along the apical half, articulate, spreading, light green to purplish green, elliptic, shortly acuminate, margin entire leaves that blooms in the late summer and early fall on a terminal, erect, without a spathe, paniculate, peduncle to 4" [10 cm] long, terete, thin, straight, with 3, basally tubular, acute and conduplicate above, rachis to 6" [15 cm] long, generally 2 to 3 branched, each branch to 2" [5 cm] long, to 10" [25 cm] long overall, laxly simultaneously to 60 flowered inflorescence with gradually diminishing in size, shorter than the ovary, triangular, acuminate, clasping floral bracts and carrying resupinate flowers with the sepals dorsally magenta, ventrally greenish brown, petal and column pink, column apex with a few irregular magenta dots, lip pale pink with the base of the midlobe yellowish green and the ribs of the disc heavily marked with dark magenta.
"Epidendrum findlingiae belongs to the GROUP Pseudepidendrum which is characterized by caespitose plants, cane-like stems, acute to acuminate leaves, usually apical inflorescence, the mostly filiform petals and the lip usually 3-lobed (with 3 parallel fleshy keels), the apical lobe often bifurcate, the “bird-wing” type pollinia, at least the inner pair, and the SUBGROUP Paniculatum which has filiform petals, all pollinia “bird-wing” type, green and white flowers, often marked with purple on the disc of the lip and apex of the column. The species is recognized by the relatively short plants, 22 to 24" [55 to 60 cm] tall including the inflorescence, leaves 1.4 to 2.24" X .8 to 12 [3.5 to 6 x 2.0 to 2.5 cm], laxly paniculate inflorescence the sepals dorsally magenta, ventrally greenish brown, column and lip pink, the disc and calli of the lip dark magenta, the apical lobes pale green, sepals .64 to .88" [14-15.7 mm] long, the lip adorned with 5 unequal ribs, and the lateral lobes narrowly sub-pentagonal. It closely resembles Epidendrum lopezii which much taller plants, 40 to 100" [100 to 250 cm] high, larger leaves 5 to 6.8" x 1.04 to 2.2" [12.5 to 17 x 2.6 to 5.5 cm], flowers of similar color, but the lip has only 3 ribs, and the lateral lobes of the lip are transversely oblong rectangular, with the corners all rounded. Epidendrum paniculatum Ruiz & Pavón has green with the apical half of the column and the lip white, the disc of the lip marked reddish, sepals .4 to .48" [10 to 12 mm] long, lateral lobes of the lip sub-orbicular, spreading, the disc of the lip with 3 ribs. Epidendrum capricornu Kraenzl. has oblong-elliptic leaves 1.2 to 4.4" x .6 to .132" [3 to 11 x 1.5 to 3.3 cm], the sepals are purple-brown with the ventral surface pale yellow, .64 to .6" [14 to 15 mm] long, and the lip is pink with the lateral lobes oblong, falcate." Hagsater etal 2015
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Icones Orchidacearum 15 [1] Plate 1526 Hagsater, Dalstrom & Ruiz-Perez 2015 photo/drawing fide
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