Epidendrum obovatipetalum Hágsater & Dodson 1993 GROUP Macrostachyum

TYPE Drawing by © Jimenez and The AMO Herbaria Website

Common Name The Narrowly Obovate Petal Epidendrum

Flower Size 1.2” [3 cm]

Found in Ecuador in cloud forests on the eastern slopes of the Eastern Cordillera of the Andes at elevations around 3200 meters as an indeterminate sized, cold growing terrestrial with erect, thick, branching when mature, cane-like stems carrying all along the stem, elliptic, obtuse leaves that blooms in the fall and winter on a terminal, on a mature stem, racemose, erect, occuring only once, without a spathe, with a foliaceous basal bract, successively half, many flowered inflorescence with prominent, lowermost ones longer than the ovary but progressively smaller above, becoming slightly shorter than the ovary, wide, ovate, obtuse floral bracts and carrying non-resupinate, fleshy, white suffused with purple flowers.

"Epidendrum obovatipetalum is part of GROUP Macrostachyum characterized by the monopodial plants with sub-apical branching, rugose leaf sheaths, large leaves generally spreading, racemose, erect inflorescence, and fleshy flowers generally green to black (ripe olive colored), as well as yellow to pink to purple, with an entire, conduplicate, generally ecallose and pubescent lip embracing the column, and the nectary pubescent to papillose in front of the stigmatic cavity and at least at the base of the lip. The species is closely related to E. chondrochilum Schltr., but is recognized by the obtuse-rounded, not acute floral segments and the triangular lip, truncate at the base, not cordate. The lower surface oí the nectary is ornamented with sloping papillae which face inwards. Epidendrum oxycalyx Hágsater & Dodson has larger, acute leaves, flowers with longer, acuminate floral segments and the inflorescence is often paniculate. Epidendrum orthophyllum Hágsater & Dodson differs in the conspicuously ascending, narrower leaves, the broadly triangular, cordate lip and the acute sepals and petals. Epidendrum palaciosii Hágsater & Dodson has flowers about half the size of E. obovatipetalum, the sepals muriculate outside, without keels, and long, acute hairs on the floor oí the nectary, which point outward." Hagsater etal 1993

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI * Icones Orchidacearum 2 Plate 163 Hagsater & Dodson 1993 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 2 Plate 168 Hagsater & Dodson 1993 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 15 [1] Plate 1507 Hagsater & Sanchez 2015 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 15 [2] Plate 1577 Hagsater & Sanchez 2016 see recognition section;

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