Epidendrum firmum Rchb.f. 1866 GROUP Difforme

Photo by © Daniel Matamoros and His Flickr Photo Website

Drawing

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

Common Name The Strong Epidendrum [refers to the rigid stems]

Flower Size 1.2" [3 cm]

Found in Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama in montane wet forests, oak and cloud forests at elevations around 650 to 2000 meters as a small to medium sized, warm to cool growing epiphyte with simple, cane-like, slightly laterally compressed, straight to slightly flexuous stems carrying 7 to 13, distributed all along the stem, coriaceous, smooth, light green, linear, obtuse, conduplicate below into the clasping base leaves that blooms in the spring and summer on an apical, arising on a mature stem, flowering only once, subcorymbose, subsessile, very short inflorescence with ovate acute floral bracts that are much shorter than the ovary and carrying 2 to 4, simultaneously opening, nocturnally scented, resupinate flowers.

"Epidendrum firmum belongs to the GROUP Difforme which is characterized by the caespitose, sympodial plants, fleshy, pale green to glaucous leaves, apical inflorescence, sessile, rarely with a short pedunde, one-flowered to corymbose, without spathaceous bracts, fleshy, green to yellowish-green rarely white flowers. The species is recognized by the slender, somewhat laterally compressed stems, narrow leaves, small, pale green, sweetly fragrant flowers, the filiform, single veined petals, 3-lobed lip with strongly dlvergent calli, and the arching column wlth a prominent, flmbriate clinandrium-hood. Epidendrum lagenocolumn Hagsater & L.Sánchez has larger and more vigorous plants with wider leaves, larger flowers, linear-oblanceolate petals, the column basally inflated and the clinandrium-hood erose-dentate. Epidendrum simulacrum Ames has similarly slender stems, small, green flower, sepals and petals reflexed, an entire, reniform-cordiform lip with subglobose calli, and a very arched column, to 90°, with a short, erose clinandrium-hood." Hagsater etal 2007

Synonyms Epidendrum difforme var. firmum (Rchb.f.) Ames, F.T.Hubb. & C.Schweinf. 1934; Epidendrum majale Schltr. 1918

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Repert. Sp. Nov. Regni. Veg. Beih. 19: 37. Costa Rica Schlechter 1923; The Genus Epidendrum Ames 1936 as Epidendrum difforme var firmum; The Orchids of Panama L.O. Williams & P Allen 1946 as E difforme var firmum; Ceiba Vol 5 No 1 L O Williams 1956 as E difforme var firmum; Die Orchideen 3 Auflage Bd 1 Sonderabdruck aus Schlechter Lieferung 9 513 - 576 Brieger, Maatsch and Senghas 1977; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum Plate 1317 Atwood 1989 drawing fide; Field Guide to the Orchids of Costa Rica and Panama Dressler 1993; Icones Orchidacearum 2 Plate 142 Hagsater & Sanchez 1993 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 2 Plate 150 Hagsater & Salazar 1993 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 3 Plate 386 Hagsater 1999 see recognition section; Manual de las Plantas de Costa Rica Vol 3 Hammel, Grayum, Herrera and Zamora 2003; Icones Orchidacearum Vol 8 Plate 878 Hagsater & Sanchez 2006 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum Vol 8 Plate 888 Hagsater & Sanchez 2006 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 9 Plate 937 Hagsater & Sanchez 2007 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 11 Plate 1189 Hagsater 2008 see recognition section; Orchids of Costa Rica Vol 3 Morales 2009 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 80 #2 2011 photo fide; Icones Orchidacearum 14 Plate 1402 Hagsater & Santiago 2013 See recognition section;

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