Epidendrum aberrans Schltr.1918 GROUP Oerstedella SUBGROUP Aberrans
Comparison of E abberans to the left and E centropetalum to the right Photos by © Hotsu and his Flickr Orchid Photo Website
TYPE Drawing TYPE Drawing by © Schlechter
EARLY
Common Name The Differing Epidendrum
Flower Size .4 to .6" [1 to 1.5 cm]
Found in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Hinduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama at elevations of 1300 to 2700 meters as a small to medium sized, cool to cold growing epiphyte with simple, cane-like, terete, thin, erect, straight stems that occasionally produce keikis from near the apex and carrying 8 to 16, all along the stem, articulate, alternate, spreading, lanceolate, acut leaves that blooms in the summer through early winter on an apical, ocurring only once, peduncle terete, thin, straight, occasionally provided with 1 to 2 linear-lanceolate, acuminate bracts, rachit terete, straight, to 1.6" [4 cm] long, racemose to slightly paniculate, slightly arching, dense, simultaneously 4 to 15 flowered inflroescence carrying resupinate, fragrant flowers.
Very similar to E centropetalum but this one differs mostly in the elongate lateral lobes of the lip, the rostellum perpendicular to the column and fragrant flowers which in C centropetalum are much shorter and not as wide spreading as the apical lobes, the rostellum is parallel to the column and the flowers have no scent.
"Epidendrum aberrans belongs to the GROUP Oerstedella which is characterized by the sympodial habit, mostly verrucose stems, and the rostellum which is perpendicular to the axis of the column instead of parallel, forming a wide, open sinus, and without a viscidium, and the SUBGROUP Aberrans, which has similar, membranaceous flowers with a prominent clinandrium-hood, unequal, bird-wing type pollinia, the inner pair much smaller than the outer pair, and the pollinia very flat and translucent. The species is recognized by the pink flowers, the white lip, with the lateral lobes oblong, acute, straight, the clinandrium-hood tubular, elongate and the bicallose callus, fused to each other throughout, with the pollinia laterally compressed, bird-wing type. Epidendrum crescentilobum Ames is very similar but has the lateral lobes of the lip arched upwards and the clinandrium-hood erose, slightly emarginate; that species usually grows along the summit of the cordilleras Central and Talamanca in Costa Rica. Epidendrum pansamalae Schltr. has purple flowers, oblong, truncate to rounded lateral lobes perpendicular to the axis of the lip, the midlobe fan-shaped, about twice as wide as the lateral lobes, with a very short isthmus, and an apicule at the apex; margin of the clinandrium-hood fimbriate." Hagsater etal 2006
Synonyms Oerstedella aberrans (Schltr.) Hamer 1983
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Icones Plantarum Tropicarum Plate 891 as Oerstedella aberrans Hamer 1982 drawing fide; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum plate 891 Dodson 1982 as Oerstedella aberrans drawing fide; Manual de Plantas de Costa Rica Vol 3 Hammel, Grayum, Herrera and Zamora 2003 as Oerstedella aberrans; Orchids of Mexico Hagsater, Soto, Salazar, Jimenez, Lopez and Dressler 2005; Icones Orchidacearum 8 Plate 810 Hagsater and Sanchez 2006 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 8 Plate 817 Hagsater and Sanchez 2006 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 8 Plate 821 Hagsater and Sanchez 2006 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 8 Plate 822 Hagsater and Sanchez 2006 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum Vol 8 Plate 852 Hagsater & Sanchez 2006 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum Vol 8 Plate 867 Hagsater & Sanchez 2006 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum Vol 8 Plate 893 Hagsater & Sanchez 2006 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum Vol 8 Plate 895 Hagsater & Sanchez 2006 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 9 Plate 993 Hagsater 2007 see recognition section; Orchids of Costa Rica Vol 2 Morales 2009 as Epidendrum aberrans photo fide; Orchid Genera and Species in Guatemala Archila, Szlachchetko, Chiron, Lipinska, Mystkowska and Bertolini 2018; Lankesteriana 19(1). 31 - 55 2019 photo fide; Vanishing Beauty, Native Costa Rican Orchids Vol 2 Lacaena to Pteroglossa Pupulin 2020 photo fide to drawing
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