Epidendrum alopecurum Schltr. 1929 GROUP Alpicolum SUBGROUP Alpicolum
Photos by © Saul Altamirano A. and The Parque Nacional Carrasco, Cochabamba Bolivia, Orquideas del Proyecto Hidroelectrico Ivirizu Website
Photo by © Ivan Jimenez, Jorge Quezada & Juan Carlos Bermejo and the Orquideas de Cotapata Website
Drawing © by © Dodson and Vasquez
Common Name The ? Epidendrum
Flower Size .4" [1 cm]
Found in Bolivia in montane cloud forests at elevations around 2300 meters as a medium sized, cold growing epiphyte with erect, terete, caespitose, cane-like stems carrying numerous, in the apical half, distichous, linear, acuminate leaves that blooms in the spring on a terminal, arching-pendent, basally sheathed, racemose, 2.8" [7 cm] long, densely many flowered inflorescence carrying orange flowers.
"Epidendrum alopecurum Schltr. from Bolivia, belongs to the GROUP Alpicolum SUBGROUP Alpicolum characterized by the simple, cane-like stems, long, narrow 1 ti 3 spathaceous bracts, fox-tail-like inflorescence and numerous flowers with fleshy lip. The species is recognized by the large inflorescence, with smaller flowers. Epidendrum alpiconigrense has terete stems, narrowly elliptic to lanceolate, acuminate leaves, small, white flowers, somewhat similar lobes of the lip, sinuate margin, unicallose lip, the calli prominent, fleshy and reduced clinandrium. Similar to Epidendrum zosterifolium but this has ancipitose stems, elliptic leaves, larger, greenish white flowers, with the middle near the apex of sepals and lip deep green, lobes of the lip unequal, margin entire, bicallose, midlobe about 3 times longer than wide, and the clinandrium erose and prominent. Epidendrum pucunoense Hágsater & Dodson has ancipitose stems, cream-yellow to white flowers, lobes of the lip entire, bicallose, the large orbicular lateral lobes, larger in area than the midlobe, emarginate, entire, prominent clinandrium." Adapted from Epidendrum alpiconigrense Icones 4 Plate 406 Hagsater etal 2001
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Icones Plantarum Tropicarum plate 216 Dodson & Vasquez 1989 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 4 Plate 406 Hagsater 2001 see recognition section; Orchids of Bolivia Vol 2 Laelinae Vasquez and Ibisch 2004; Icones Orchidacearum 18(2) Plate 1885 Hagsater & Jimenez 2021 see recognition section
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