Epidendrum alticola Ames & Correll 1942GROUP Arbuscula SUBGROUP Arbuscula
Photo © by Ann Damon
Photo by Hagsater/TYPE Drawing by © Jimenez, Hágsater & E.Santiago and The AMO Herbario Website
LATE 
THROUGH EARLY 
Common Name The High Elevation Epidendrum
Flower Size 1" [2.5 cm]
Found in Chiapas state of Mexico and Guatemala on volcanos in humid wet mountain forest, at elevations around 1900 to 2800 meters as a small to medium sized, cool to cold growing epiphyte with simple, cane-like, terete, straight stems carrying 2 to 4, clustered towards the apex, alternate, articulate, subcoriaceous, narrowly elliptic, obtuse to subacute, basally clasping leaves that blooms in the spring through early fall on a terminal, occuring only once, racemose, arching, 2.8 to 5" [7 to 12.5 cm] long, peduncle 1.2 to 1.6" [3 to 4 cm] long, thin, laterally compressed, mostly simultaneously 3 to 10 flowered inflorescence with linear-lanceolate, acuminate, as long as half the ovary floral bracts.
" Epidendrum alticola belongs to the GROUP Arbuscula SUBGROUP Arbuscula which is characterized by the successive lateral growths produced from the middle of the previous growth, few leaves aggregate towards the apex of the stems, arching, aplcal inflorescence with membranaceous, colorful flowers and a bicallose lip. The species is recognized by the few flowered inflorescence, white to greenish white flowers with a yellow disk that is subentire, subrhombic-suborbicular, entire lip. Epidendrum alabastrialatum Pollard ex Hágsater, from the Oaxaca-Chiapas border has a subquadrate lip with four suborbicular lobes, the lip being similarly wide between the basal and apical lobes, the sepals and petals are greenish yellow, the ovary longer, 1 to 2.4" [25 to 60 mm] long. Epidendrum arbuscula Lindl. from around Guatemala City has a dense inflorescence of up to 215, greenish creamy flowers which turn yellowish brown with time, the lip is clearly 3-lobed with 3 evident, elongate keels that reach the middle of the lip." Hagsater etal 2006
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Ceiba Vol 5 No 1 L O Williams 1956; ORQUIDEA (Méx.) 10 (2) 1987 drawing/photo fide; Icones Orchidaceaerum 8 Plate 804 Hagsater 2006 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 8 Plate 808 Hagsater and Sanchez 2006 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum Vol 8 Plate 858 Hagsater & Sanchez 2006 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 11 Plate 1186 Hagsater 2008 see recognition section; Orchid Genera and Species in Guatemala Archila, Szlachchetko, Chiron, Lipinska, Mystkowska and Bertolini 2018
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