Epidendrum ampliracemum C.Schweinf. 1952 GROUP Ampelospathum
Photo by © Karol Villena
TYPE Drawing by © Schweinfurth
Drawing by © Jimenez, Hágsater & E.Santiago and The AMO Herbario Website
Common Name The Wide Raceme Epidendrum
Flower Size 1.2" [3 cm]
Found in Huanuco department of Peru at elevations around 2750 meters as a medium to large sized, cold growing orchid with a decumbent, stem enveloped completley by tubular, scarious below and green and bearing above leaf sheaths and carrying a few distichous, spreading, variable in size, elliptic to elliptic-oblong, rounded apically and at the amplexicaul base leaves that blooms in spring on a straight, peduncle with a small scarious sheath below the middle, [3.8 cm] long, racemose above, 7.6" [19 cm] long overall, subdensely many flowered inflorescence with small, shorter than the ovary, distinct, narrowly triangular-lanceolate floral bracts and carrying fleshy, spreading segmented flowers.
CAUTION I am not sure of the ID on the photo but the type drawing is absolutely correct.
"Epidendrum ampliracemum belongs to the GROUP Ampelospathum which is characterized by the simple, cane-like, few-leaved stems, with a single, tubular, tight spathaceous bract at the base of a racemose, simple, erect inflorescence, and the flowers resupinate. The species is recognized by the 16" [40 cm] tall plants, stems with 3 elliptic leaves 2.68 to 5.32" x 1.2 to 1.76" [6.7 to 13.3 x 3.0 to 4.4 cm], inflorescence densely many-flowered 8: [20 cm] long, sepals .68 to .72" [17 to 18 mm] long, margin revolute, dorsal slightly reflexed, petals linear-oblanceolate, oblique, and lip 3-lobed, calli small, proximate, sub-globose, slightly divaricate, lateral lobes dolabriform, mid-lobe sun-quadrate, apex minutely apiculate. Epidendrum chalmersii Hágsater & Ric.Fernández has elliptic leaves 2 to 3.8" x .88 to 1.12" [5.0 to 9.5 x 2.2 to 2.8 cm] long, smaller flowers, sepals .46 to .52" [11.5 to 13.0 mm] long, petals narrowly oblanceolate, lip 3-lobed, lateral lobes ovate-elliptic, mid-lobe rectangular-oblong, apex emarginate and bilobed. Epidendrum aquilalatum Hágsater & E.Santiago has leaves 2.32 to 3.2 x 1.12 to 1.4" [5.8 to 8.0 x 2.8 to 3.5 cm], apex rounded, minutely bilobed, inflorescence 6.6" [16.5 cm] long, sub-dense, petals .72 x .68" [18 x 1.7 cm], linear-oblanceolate, sub-falcate, acute, and the lip when spread is bird-like, the lateral lobes wing-like, obliquely semi-ovate, and basal half of mid-lobe sub-quadrate forming an isthmus, apical half strongly dilated forming a pair of semi-orbicular, strongly divaricate lobes and ending in a prominent apiculus. Epidendrum brevicallosum Hágsater & E. Santiago has tall plants 23.2" [58 cm] high, with 3 leaves 1.8 to 3.2 x .6 to 1.08" [4.5 to 8.0 x 1.5 to 2.7 cm], elliptic, apically rounded, inflorescence 12" [30 cm] long, petals .592 x 1.36" [14.8 x 3.4 mm], sub-spathulate, apex rounded, lip with sub-globose, widely separate, small calli, and mid-lobe quadrate with the apex truncate and emarginate. Although having flowers similar to the following species, E ampliraceum has only a few large, wide, rounded leaves, and an erect raceme with only a very small spathe at the base. Epidendrum melanoxeros forms large caespitose plants with leaves distributed throughout, apical, nutant, racemose inflorescence with a narrow, conduplicate spathe, its apex obtuse, blunt, lip 3-lobed, sepals 5-veined, petals single veined, and greenish yellow flowers which dry black when pressed. It is closely related to E. klotzscheanum which has lanceolate, acute leaves, 2 to 3 spathes which are much larger and very acute, sepals 7-veined, petals 5-veined, and the midlobe of the lip truncate and fleshy carinate; flowers dry brown when pressed." Hagsater etal 2019
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Orchids of Peru Vol 2 Schweinfurth 1959 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 3 Plate 354 Hagsater & Sanchez 1999 see recognition section; Machu Picchu Orchids Christenson 2003 photos fide; Orchid Species of Peru Zelenko Bermudez 2009 as E sp pg 136 photo fide; Icones Orchidacearum 14 Plate 1416 Hagsater & Santiago 2013 See recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 16(2) Plate 1694 Hagsater & Jimenez 2018 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 17(1) Plate 1703 Hagsater & Jimenez 2019 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 17(1) Plate 1705 Hagsater & Jimenez 2019 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 17(1) Plate 1708 Hagsater & Jimenez 2019 see recognition section
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