IOSPE PHOTOS

Epidendrum ardens Kraenzel 1906 GROUP Andean SUBGROUP Soratae

Photo by Š Nartreb and his Orchid Page

Another Color

Photo by Š Carlos Hajek and his Peruvian Orchid Page

Drawing

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

Common Name The On Fire Epidendrum [refers to the Flower color]

Flower Size 3/4" [2 cm]

Found in southeastern Peru in in moss covered elfin forests or on rocky ledges at elevations of 2000 to 4150 meters as a reed stem, medium to large sized, cold growing, epiphyte or lithophyte with long, straggly, frequently branching stems enveloped basally by tubular sheaths and carries a few, erect, imbricating, lanceolate, acute, carinate, conduplicate below, dark green leaves suffused with purple and subtended by purple persistent sheaths that blooms in the summer through fall on a subapical, laxly pendant, 2 to 3" [5 to 7.5 cm] long, densely many [10 to 14] flowered inflorescence with narrowly lanceolate, acuminate floral bracts that cover half of the ovary and carrying simultaneously opening, resupinate flowers.

"Epidendrum ardens belongs to the GROUP Andean SUBGROUP Soratae recognized by the monopodial stem with subapical branching, the infundibuliform leaf-sheaths and the acute leaves. The species stands out due to the colorful flowers in a compact raceme, in bright tones of scarlet red, orange, or rarely yellow or reddish brown, the somewhat conduplicate, acute leaves, and the cupped sepals .4" [10 mm] long with the lip reniform, deeply cordate and somewhat emarginate. Epidendrum soratae Rchb.f. has greenish yellow flowers, a reniform, apically somewhat 3-lobed, bicallose lip, and .24 to .28" [6 to 7 mm] long sepals. Epidendrum obliquum Schltr. has a reniform, emarginate lip .16 x .32" [4 x 8 mm] in size and a straight column. Epidendrum cardenasii Hágsater has larger flowers, .48 to .52" [12 to 13 mm] long sepals, the lip bilobed, widely emarginate and about as long as it is wide, the base shortly cordate and the calli laminar and divaricate. Epidendrum bolivianum Schltr. has larger flowers, sepals .52" [13 mm] long, apically bilobed, wider leaves, .28 to .48"[7 to 12 mm] wide, the 3 lobes of the lip about equal in size. Epidendrum cartilaginiflorum Rchb.f. has a cordiform, somewhat 3-lobed-lip, apex obtuse, rounded, and the sepals are .64" [16 mm] long. Epidendrum fruticulum Schltr. has tall, branching plants, the leaves of the branches short, oblong, rounded, a short, suberect inflorescence, a deeply 3-lobed lip, the midlobe rectangular, widened and rounded at the apex which is somewhat emarginate, linear-oblanceolate petals and .24 to .32" [6 to 8 mm] long sepals." Hagsater etal 2009

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