Epidendrum annabellae Nir 1994 GROUP Andean SUBGROUP Fritzianum

Photo by © Mark Nir and Orchidaceae Antillannae

Drawing

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

Common Name Annabell's Epidendrum [Wife of Dr Donald Dod and Discoverer of species current]

Flower Size 1 1/4" [3 cm]

Endemic to Hispanola in open pine forests at elevations around 2000 to 2300 meters as a small sized, branching, caespitose, erect, cold growing epiphyte with branching from the middle, basally monopodial and terete, few leafed stems completely enveloped by inflated sheaths and carrying a few, disitichous, rigid, coriaceous, oblong-ligulate, subacute, conduplicate below into the base leaves which blooms in the spring and summer on a terminal, arching, few flowered, racemose inflorescence with triangular, acuminate floral bracts and carrying 3 to 5, resupinate flowers.

"Epidendrum annabellae belongs to the GROUP Andean SUBGROUP Fritzianum which is characterized by the branching habit starting on a primary stem, infundibuliform, rugose leaf-sheaths, lanceolate, aristate, acute leaves, racemose subcapitate inflorescence on a short, thin peduncle, and the bicallose lip. The species can be recognized by the undulate-scarious margin of the leaves, entire, reniform to broadly cordate, apiculate lip, a short, thick constricted column. It was confused with Epidendrum soratae Rchb.f. from the eastern Cordillera of the Andes in Bolivia anc Peru, but that species has a much larger habit, thinner, longer column, the lip wider, deeply cordate and emarginate apex of the somewhat 3-lobed lip." Hagsater etal 2006

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Orchidaceae Antillanae Nir 2000; Icones Orchidacearum 8 Plate 806 Hagsater 2006 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 9 Plate 988 Hagsater 2007 see recognition section; Orchid Flora of the Greater Antilles Ackerman 2014

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