Epidendrum astroselaginella Hágsater & E.Santiago 2007 GROUP Epidanthus
TYPE Drawing by © Jimenez, Hágsater & E.Santiago and The AMO Herbario Website
LATE 
Common Name The Star Seliginella Epidendrum [Distinguishes this species from E seliginella and its sister species E stenoselaginella]
Flower Size .32" [8 mm]
Found in Costa Rica and Panama at elevations around 500 to 1100 meters as a mini-miniature to miniature sized, warm to cool growing epiphyte with simple, arising from the 2 to 3" internode of the previous stem, cane-like, basally terete, laterally compressed above, thin, erect, straight stems carrying about 9 to 15, all along the stem, distichous, alternate, articulate, coriaceous, spreading horizontally , coriaceous, linear-lanceolate, obtuse, unequally bilobed, amplexicaul, basally clasping leaves that blooms in the late summer and fall on a terminal, occuring only once, racemose, distichous, secund, erect, .6 to 2.4" [1.5 to 6 cm] long including the .4 to 1.28" [1 to 3.2 cm] long, filiform peduncle, 2 to 7 flowered inflorescence with 1 to 2, tubular, acute bracts and shorter to slightly shorter than the ovary, narrowly ovate, acute, conduplicate, amplexicaul, slightly papillose floral bracts and carrying simultaneously opening, non-resupinate, distichous, pale green to greenish yellow flowers with a white anther.
"Epidendrum astroselaginella belongs to the GROUP Epidanthus which is characterized by short, small, somewhat scandent plants with very thin stems, very narrow, more or less fleshy leaves, with a small, narrowly triangular, acute ligule opposite the blade, an apical, disticlíous, . usually secund inflorescence, and 2 or 4 pollinia. The species is recognlzed by the linear-lanceolate leaves, flowers laxly distributed on the inflorescence, the floral segments spreading, star-shaped, very thin petals, the nectary gradually widening towards the apex, not constricted at the perianth, the ovary and sepals glabrous, and the pair of prominent lateral, flat, teeth of the column directed upwards at a 45º angle in front of the anther. Epidendrum selaginella has ovate to oblong-ovate leaves, the flowers aggregate at the end of a long inflorescence, the floral segments partly spreading, the sepals and ovary densely papillose, and the nectary constricted at the perianth. Epidendrum stenosellaginella Hágsater & E.Santiago is vegetatively very similar, with narrow leaves, but has smaller flowers with the sepals .92 to 1.2" [2.3 to 3.0 mm] long, the floral segments partly spreadlng, and the lip as wide as it is long, and the blunt, toothless column totally united to the lip." Hagsater etal 2007
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; *Icones Orchidacearum 9 Plate 910 Hagsater & Sanchez 2007 drawing/photo fide; Icones Orchidacearum 9 Plate 943 Hagsater 2007 see recognition section;Icones Orchidacearum 9 Plate 984 Hagsater 2007 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 9 Plate 991 Hagsater 2007 see recognition section; Orchids of Costa Rica Vol 3 Morales 2009 photo fide; Lankesteriana 12[3]: 2014 photo not = E selaginella; Lankesteriana 12[3]: 2014 as E selaginella photo fide;
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
