Epidendrum rolfeanum F.Lehm. & Kraenzl. 1899 GROUP Epidendropsis SUBGROUP Gracillimum
Side View in situ Cundiamarca 10/19
Side View in situ Cundiamarca 10/19
Side View in situ Cundiamarca 10/19
Plant and Flower in situ Cundiamarca 10/19
Photos by © Jay Pfahl
photo by Carlos Uribe/Drawing by © Hagsater & Jimenez and The AMO Herbario Website
Common Name Rolfe's Epidendrum [English Botanist at Kew 1855-1921]
Flower Size .2" [5 mm]
Found in Colombia on the Cordillera Central and in Colombia and Ecuador on the Cordillera Oriental at elevations of 1500 to 2900 meters as a miniature to small sized, cool to cold growing caespitose, pendent growing epiphyte with simple, short, terete at the base, base covered by tubular, non-foliar, minutely striated, scarious sheaths, cane-like, laterally compressed above, thin, flexuous stems carrying 6 to 7, distributed throughout the stem, alternate, spreading to sub-parallel to the stem, acicular, straight, minutely striated, green with the apex slightly tinged brown leaf sheaths, linear, acuminate, sub-coriaceous, semi-terete, margin entire, spreading leaves that blooms in the spring through fall on a terminal, without a spathe, erect to slightly arched, peduncle 1.4 [3.5 cm] long, thin, ancipitose, sinuous with 2 to 4 bracts, distributed throughout the peduncle, tubular, ancipitose at the base, spreading towards the apical half, long-acuminate, bracts, paniculate, rachis filiform with 3 racemes .28 to .6" [0.7 to 1.5 cm] long, each raceme straight, 3 to 6 fowerers per raceme, short, laxly few-flowered, subtended by a bract similar to the bracts of the peduncle but progressively shorter, 2.4 to 5" [6 to 12.5 cm] long overall, 15 to 20 flowered inflorescence with much shorter than the ovary, triangular, long-acuminate, embracing floral bracts and carrying small, membranaceous, simultaneous, resupinate, purple-brown or greenish purple to greenish pink, with the disc of the lip greenish yellow flowers without fragrance data.
"Epidendrum rolfeanum belongs to the GROUP Epidendropsis SUBGROUP Gracillimum characterized by the sympodial, caespitose, relatively small plants with nonthickened stems, long, narrow, sub-coriaceous leaves, and a long, paniculate inflorescence, and delicate small flowers. The species is recognized by the acicular leaves 1.6 to 4.4" x .04 to .08" [4 to 11 x 0.1 to 0.2 cm], the inflorescence with 3, laxly flowered racemes with 3 to 6 purple-brown or greenish purple flowers, sepals .12 to.16" [3 to 4 mm] long, dorsal nearly parallel to the ovary, and the lip entire with the margin erose. Epidendrum gracillimum Rchb.f. & Warsz. has wider leaves, 1-8 to 2.6" x .08 to .12" [4.5 to 6.5 x 0.2 to 0.3 cm], linear-lanceolate, sepals .2" [5 mm] long, dorsal sepal spreading in relation to the column, and the lip 3-lobed, with the margin entire. Epidendrum cryptorhachis Hágsater , has larger plants, to 17.2" [43 cm] long, leaves 1.12 to 4" x .16 to .32" [2.8 to 10 x 0.4 to 0.8 cm], linear-lanceolate, inflorescence composed of 6 to 9 densely flowered racemes, sub-parallel to the rachis, and the flowers reddish brown, petals narrowly spatulate. Epidendrum schlimii Rchb.f. . has linear-lanceolate leaves .4 to 12.2" x .08 to .12" [1 to 5.5 x 0.2 to 0.3 cm], inflorescence with 3 very short, laxly few-flowered racemes of 2 flowers each, purple-brown, the base of the column and lip green, the lip widely cordiform with the margin entire. Epidendrum physophorum Schltr. has linear-lanceolate leaves 1.4 to 2.4" x .6 to .12" [3.5 to 6 x 0.15 to 0.3 cm], a many-flowered inflorescence and the ovary with a very prominent vesicle formed by the nectary behind the perianth. Epidendrum xerophyticum Hágsater & E.Santiago is found on the western slope of the Cordillera de los Andes in southern Ecuador, in dry scrub bush among cacti, and has shorter, wider, fleshy, thick leaves .08 to 1.8" x .16 to .24" [2 to 4.5 x 0.4 to 0.6 cm], sepals .14" [3.5 mm] long, and the dorsal sepals somewhat spreading, sub-parallel to the column." Hagsater etal 2018
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Icones Orchidacearum 15 [2] Plate 1580 Hagsater & Sanchez 2016 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 15 [2] Plate 1588 Hagsater & Sanchez 2016 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 15 [2] Plate 1600 Hagsater & Sanchez 2016 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 16[1} Plate 1653 Hagsater & Sanchez 2018 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 16[1] Plate 1656 Hagsater & Santiago 2018 Drawing/photo fide
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