Epidendrum floridense Hágsater 1993 GROUP Difforme

Photo by © Lizette Morejón

TYPE Drawing

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

LATER to EARLY

Common Name The Florida Epidenrum

Flower Size 1.2" [3 cm]

Found in Florida USA and Cuba at elevations of sea-level to 1000 meters as a mini-miniature to small sized, hot to warm growing epiphyte with simple, terete, flexuous stems carrying 4 to 10, narrowly elliptic, bilobed apically, subcoriaceous, bright green leaves that blooms in the late summer to early fall on a terminal, occuring only once, sub-umbellate, shortly pedunculate inflorescence carrying 4 to 14, simultaneously opening, resupinate flowers.

"Epidendrum floridense is a member of the GROUP Difforme which is characterized by the caespitose, sympodial plants, fleshy, pale green to glaucous leaves, apical inflorescence, sessile, rarely with a short peduncle, single flowered to corymbose, without spathaceous bracts, fleshy, green to yellowish-green, rarely white flowers. This species can be recognized by the terete stems, cordate, emarginate lip, short, rounded calli, straight column with an obtuse tooth at each side of the apex, and a short, obconica lclinandrium with erose margin . It is similar to E. orientale Hágsater & M.A. Díaz, a Cuban species, which has smaller plants 2 to 5.88" [5 to 14.7 cm] high, 4 to 6 simultaneous flowers, deeply emarginate lip with divaricate calli, and the clinandrium irregularly dentate. Epidendrum boricuarum Hágsater & L. Sánchez, a Puerto Rican species, has laterally compressed stems, 4 to 8 flowers, and 3-lobed lip. Epidendrum caribiorum Ackerman & Acev.-Rodr. found in north-eastern Cuba at elevations around 1200 meters, has vigorous plants, laterally compressed stems, narrowly oblanceolate petals and a 3-lobed lip deeply bilobed at the apex. In cultivation the inflorescences of E. floridense sometimes produce a rosette of abnormally large, leaf-like floral bracts." Hagsater etal 1993

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; ; Icones Orchidacearum 2 Plate 114 Hagsater & Sanchez 1993 see recognition section; * Icones Orchidacearum 2 Plate 133 Hagsater 1993 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 2 Plate 167 Hagsater & Dodson 1993 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 3 Plate 321 Hagsater & Sanchez 1999 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 4 Plate 401 Hagsater 2001 see recognition section; The Orchids of Cuba Llamacho and Larramendi 2005 photo fide; Icones Orchidacearum Vol 8 Plate 827 Hagsater & Sanchez 2006 see recognition section; Orchid Flora of the Greater Antilles Ackerman 2014; AOS Bulletin Vol 84 #3 2015 photo fide;

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