Epidendrum amarajiense V.P.Castro & L.C.Menezes 2009 publ. 2010 GROUP Difforme

Photo © by V.P. Castro

Drawing

Drawing by © Jimenez, Hágsater & E.Santiago and The AMO Herbario Website

Common Name The Amaraji Epidendrum [A town in Brazil]

Flower Size 2" [5 cm]

Found in Pernambuco state of Brazil at elevations around 600 meters as a miniature sized, warm growing epiphyte with simple, cane-like, terete, straight to slightly flexuous stems carrying 5 to 6, all along the stem, elliptic, retuse, coriaceous, smooth, green, margin entire, spreading , basally clasping leaves that blooms in the winter on a terminal, occuring only once, from the mature stem, sessile, corymbose, 2.8 to 5" [7 to 12.5 cm] long, peduncle 1.2 to 1.6" [3 to 4 cm] long, simultaneously 2 flowered inflorescence with much shorter than the ovary, triangular, acute, scarious floral bracts.

"Epidendrum amarajiense belongs to the GROUP Difformewhich is characterized by the caespitose, sympodial plants, fleshy, pale green to glaucous leaves, apical inflorescence, sessile, rarely with a short peduncle, one to many-flowered and then corymbose, without spathaceous bracts, fleshy, green to yellowish-green rarely white flowers. The species is recognized by the laterally compressed, ancipitose stems, 2 large flowers, sepals 1.32 to 1.36" [33 to 34 mm] long, recurved petals and reniform lip, .44 x .72" [11 x 18 mm], with a very small rectangular mid-lobe, lateral lobes obovate with the margin undulate, a long, straight column and slightly erose margin of the clinandrium-hood. Epidendrum anatipedium L.Sánchez & Hágsater, known only from further north, in the State of Ceará, also has large flowers, sepals .146" [36 mm] long, the petals parallel to the column, and obtrapezoid lip with the apex 3-lobed, the lobes triangular, an arched column, and a prominent, erose, clinandrium-hood. Epidendrum carvalhoi Toscano also endemic to Brazil, from the State of Espírito Santo, has long, narrow sepals and petals, sepals 1.48 to 2.2" [37 to 55 mm] long), the lip is obreniform, 3-lobed, mid-lobe small, short and wide, rounded, apiculate. Epidendrum latilabre Lindl. is widely distributed along the Mata Atlântica of Brazil, sepals are -72 to 1.33# [18 to 33 mm] long, petals spreading, lip is 4 times wider than long, lateral lobes sub-quadrate, mid-lobe wide and deeply emarginate, forming a pair of lobes, and the prominent clinandrium-hood has a deeply lacerate margin. Epidendrum oldemanii Christenson is endemic to the French Guyana and has smaller flowers, sepals .56 to .66" [14 to 16.5 mm long, spreading petals, a bilobed, transversely reniform lip with the margin sinuous and subglobose calli. Epidendrum amapense Hágsater & L.Sánchez, from northern Brazil and the French Guyana has 1 to 2, smaller flowers, sepals .56 to .68" [14 to 17 mm] long, spreading petals, semi-ovate lateral lobes with the margin slightly erose, mid-lobe is short and wide, .48 x 1.2" [1.2 x 3.0 mm], emarginate, the column slightly arching with the margin of the clinandrium-hood deeply erose-dentate. Epidendrum pseudodifforme Hoehne & Schltr. also endemic to coastal Brazil has terete stems, 5 to 8 small flowers, sepals .48 to .52" [12 to 13 mm] long, spreading petals, a 3-lobed lip with the margin crenulate, and the mid-lobe with a wide sinus forming 2 rounded lobes." Hagsater etal 2013

Synonyms Epidendrum pernambucense V.P.Castro & L.C.Menezes 2009

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Bol. CAOB 75: 35 Castro and Menzes 2009 as E pernambucense Drawing photo fide; *Bol. CAOB 76: 67 Castro and Menzes 2009 publ. 2010 Drawing/photo fide; Icones Orchidacearum 14 Plate 1404 Hagsater 2013 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 14 Plate 1403 Hagsater & Santiago 2013 See recognition section;

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------