Epidendrum antillanum Ackerman & Hágsater 1992GROUP Ramosum SUBGROUP Rugosum
Photos by © Roger Graveson and his The Plants of Saint Lucia Webpage
TYPE Drawing by © Hernandez, Hágsater & Ackermanand The AMO Herbario Website
LATER
THROUGH LATE 
Common Name The Antilles Epidendrum
Flower Size .6" [1.5 cm]
Found in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Guadeloupe, Dominica, Martinique and St Vincent in wet montane forests at elevations of 750 to 1400 as a miniature to medium sized, warm to cool growing epiphyte with approximate, erect, terete, flexuose, branching stems carrying subdensely several, subcoriaceous, spreading, ligulate to oblong-lanceolate, obtusely bilobed, entire leaves that blooms in the later summer through late winter on a terminal, subsessile, .17 to .2" [4 to 5 mm] long, successively 1 to 3 flowered inflorescence arising on either the stems or the branches, with conduplicate, carinate, ovate, obtuse to subacuminate floral bracts.
" Epidendrum antillanum is part of GROUP Ramosum which is characterized by the monopodial, branching stems, the spike-like, distichous inflorescence, and the single callus, and the SUBGROUP Rugosum which has a branching habit with few-flowered inflorescence from short, secondary stems, the leaf-sheaths rugose. The species has been confused by recent authors with Epidendrum pseudoramosum Schltr due to the similar vegetative habit and small flowers. However, it is distinguished by the shorter and wider leaves, and fewer flowers, as E. pseudoramosum usually has 3 to 4, and its capsules are globose or ovoid. The Antilles' species is closely related to E. ramosum , E flexicaule Schlechter, E. veraguasense Hágs., and E. urichianum Camevali, Foldats & Ramírez; the former two from Costa Rica, the third from Panama and the latter from Venezuela. Epidendrum flexicaule has narrower leaves, .24 to .32" [6 to 8 mm] wide , the floral segments .32 to .4" [8 to 10 mm] long and well spread. Epidendrum ramosum has a very similar vegetative habit, leaves .4 to .52" [10 to 13 mm] wide, but the floral segments are .48 to .52" [12 to 13 mm] long. Epidendrum veraguasense has very short leaves, .72 to 1.12" [18 to 28 mm] long, .2 to .44" [5 to 11 mm] wide, and the floral segments are .48" [12 mm] long. Epidendrum urichianum has a very similar vegetative habit, with leaves up to 2" [5 cm] long and .64" [16 mm] wide, and the floral segments are .28" [7 mm] long, but the callus is truncate and prolonged into one keel, instead of three, and the flowers are well extended, open, in natural position." Orquidea [Mexico] 12[2] Ackerman 1992
Synonyms Epidendrum ramosum var. lanceolatum Griseb. 1864
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Icones Orchidacearum 1 Plate 026 Hagsater & Salazar 1990 see recognition section as E ramosum var lanceolatum; Orquídea (Méx.) 12(2): 225 - 229. Hagsater 1992 drawing/photo fide; An Orchid Flora Of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands Ackerman 1995 drawing fide; Orchidaceae Antillanae Nir 2000; Icones Orchidacearum 4 Plate 422 Hagsater 2001 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 5-6 Plate 580 Hagsater 2002 see recognition section; Orchid Flora of the Greater Antilles Ackerman 2014
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