Epidendrum andinum Carnevali & G.A.Romero 2000
Photos by © Alex Mora Mendez
Drawing by © Dunsterville & Garay and The Swiss Orchid Foundation at the Jany Renz Herbaria
Common Name or Meaning The Andes Epidendrum
Flower Size .36" [9 mm]
Found in northwestern Venezuela in montane, wet forests at elevations around 2100 to 2400 meters as a pendent, miniature sized, cold growing epiphyte with cane-like, branching from the near basal nodes of the previous stem, terete basally, laterally compressed towards the apex stems carrying, all along the stem, fleshy, linear, somewhat falcate, acute, basally clasping leaves that blooms in the winteron a terminal, racemose, pendent, 3" [7.5 cm] long including the very short peduncle enveloped by a spathe, rachis enveloped completely by highly compressed light green bracts, slightly flexuous, 7 to 8 flowered inflorescence which has minute white floral bracts that are also enveloped by the bracts.
Very similar to Epidendrum bifarium but Carnevalli & Romero did a redo of Dunsterville’s 1965 Epidendrum bifarium drawings in 2000 and they changed it to E andinum occurring only in northwestern Venezuela. There is a real E bifarium described by Swartz in 1799 and said to be in Jamaica by Fawcett & Rendel [1910] with a drawing that is quite similar at first glance to what Dunsterville has but, the apically folded mid lobe to the lip is entire when flattened and not bilobed and the flower of E andinum overall is smaller in width, plus the Jamaican orchid has linear, ovate leaves. Kew concurs with this split but also says that E bifarium occurs in Jamaica, Colombia and Venezuela. I have found nothing on the Colombian citation and Colombia and Venezuela are still said to be in the range of E bifarium even though they split away E andinum, more research needs to be done here to ensure that they really are two species or not, if not then E bifarium takes precedence. What is the Colombian citation? Most likely it concurs with E andinum because of its proximity.
The photos above were supposedly collected within Colombia.
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Venezuelan Orchids Illustrated Vol 3 Dunsterville & Garay 1965 as E bifarium drawing fide; Orchids of Venezuela an Illustrated Field Guide Vol 1 Dunsterville & Garay 1979 as E bifarium drawing fide; *Orchids of Venezuela an Illustrated Field Guide Vol 3 for text/Vol 1 for drawing Romero & Carnevali 2000 Drawing fide; Orquideas Nativas del Tachira Fernandez 2003 photo fide; Orquideas, Tesoro de Colombia Vol 2 Ortiz & Uribe 2017 drawing fide;
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![Drawing [as E bifarium]](orphotdir/epiandinum.jpg){kind=link}