Epidendrum krukoffii Hagsater, J M P Cordiero & Krahl 2021 GROUP Nocturnum

LCDP Photo by © A. H. Krahl & A. Cisneros and Icones Orchidacearum 18(2) Plate 1875 Hagsater & Jimenez 2021

Common Name Krukoff's Epidendrum [In honor of Boris Alexander Krukoff (1898-1983), Russian born, eventually arriving in the United States in 1925. As a botanist and plantation manager, he mounted eight major expeditions to South America and Africa between 1928 and 1955. He worked mainly for pharmaceutical and rubber companies. He collected 11,000 specimens and wrote 70 papers on economic botany and taxonomy.]

Flower Size 2.4" [6 cm]

Found in the Leticia area of Colombia and the Amazon basin of Brazil on river banks and in flooded areas as well as on trees with white sand below at 50 to 100 meters in elevations as a small to medium sized, hot growing epiphyte with simple, cane-like, terete at base, laterally compressed above stems carrying 5 to 9, , distributed along the apical half of the stems, sub-equal, the basal ones smaller, coriaceous, alternate, medium green on both sides; sheath tubular, laterally compressed, striated; blade narrowly elliptic, apex narrowly rounded, with a low dorsal keel, margin entire leaves that blooms at any time of the year on an apical, pluri-racemose,sessile; rachis short, to 1" [2.5 cm] long, producing one flower at a time, flowering during several years, successively single flowered inflorescence with ovate-triangular, obtuse, much shorter than the ovary, amplexicaul floral bracts.

" Epidendrum krukoffii belongs to the GROUP Nocturnum , which is characterized by the sympodial, caespitose plants, the cane-like stems, the short, racemose, or pluri-racemose inflorescence without a spathe, and the large star-shaped, successive flowers with similar sepals and petals. The new species is recognized by the medium sized plants, 8 to 16" [20 to 40 cm] tall, medium green throughout with 5 to 6 narrowly elliptic leaves, apex narrowly rounded, blade 1.12" to 4.8" x .16 to .64" [2.8 to 12 x 0.4 to 1.6 cm], 6 to 9:1 (length:width), the ovary 1 to `.1" [25 to 30 mm] long, sepals .72 to 1.04" [18 to 26 mm] long, and the lateral lobes of the lip obliquely oblong-elliptic, rounded on both ends. Epidendrum porphyronocturnum Hágsater & R.Jiménez has stems 6.4 to 16" [16 to 40 cm] tall, 3 to 8 narrowly elliptic, acute leaves of similar size, 2.6 to 3.2" x .32 to .72" [6.5 to 8.0 x 0.8 to 1.8 cm], dark green above, purple on the underside, an ovary 1.32 to 1.72" [33 to 43 mm] long, sepals .72 to .804" [18 to 21 mm] long, and a lip .48 to .56" x .48 to .56" [12 to 14 x 12 to 14 mm], the lateral lobes ovate, with 6 thickened, radiating veins, mid-lobe .348 to .36" X .08" [8.7 to 9.0 x 2.0 mm]. Epidendrum phlebonocturnum Hágsater & R.Jiménez has short stems 3.6 to 4.4" [9 to 11 cm] long, laterally compressed, bright green, 5 to 6 unequal leaves, .6 to 2.8" x .44 to .92" [1.5 to 7.0 x 1.1 to 2.3 cm], an ovary about as long as the sepals 1.56 to 1.84" [39 to 46 mm] long, a deeply 3-lobed lip with large yellow calli, and the lateral lobes with prominently raised veins radiating from the base, and sub-parallel, mid-lobe .92 x 1" [23 x 2.5 mm]. Epidendrum longicolle has laterally compressed stems with 5 to 12 linear-lanceolate, acuminate leaves, 10:1 to 20:1,2 to 6" x .2 to .32" [5 to 15 x 0.5 to 0.8 cm], sepals 1.12 to 1.68" [28 to 42 mm] long, lateral lobes of the lip joined to the mid-lobe through 1/3 to 1/2 its length, and an ovary 1.2 to 1.6" [30 to 40 mm] long. Epidendrum minus (Cogn.) Hágsater has (the holotype, from Peru) sepals .84" [21 mm] long, the ovary 1.28" [32 mm] long, and leaves to 3.2 x .52" [8 x 1.3 cm], 6:1 (length:width), oblong, apically narrowly rounded. Epidendrum bahiense Rchb.f. (the type) has smaller flowers, sepals .8" [20 mm] long, an ovary 1" [25 mm] long, and proportionately longer and narrower leaves, 1.6 to 3.2" x .16 to .32" [4 to 8 x 0.4 to 0.8 cm], 10:1." Hagsater etal 2021

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Icones Orchidacearum 13 Plate 1358 Hagsater 2010 as E minus not E kurkoffii = Drawing fide; * Icones Orchidacearum 18(2) Plate 1875 Hagsater & Jimenez 2021 LCDP Photo/photo fide;

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