Epidendrum atonum Hágsater & Dodson 2004 GROUP Excisum SUBGROUP Leucochilum
Photo by © Orchids & More Website
Photo by © Ecuagenera and their Ecuador Orchid Website
TYPE Drawing by © Jimenez, Hágsater & E.Santiago and The AMO Herbario Website
Common Name or Meaning The Weak Epidendrum [refers to the sepals and petals limp appearance]
Flower Size .6" [1.5 cm]
Found in southern Ecuador at elevations of 1500 to 1800 meters as a small sized, cool growing epiphyte with a simple, cane-like, ancipitous, sinuous stem carrying 2 to 4, on the upper half of the stem, alternate, coriaceous, smooth, ovate-elliptic, rounded, concave leaves that blooms in the fall on a terminal, racemose, successively single, few flowered, slighly arcuate inflorescence arising through a large tubular, ancipitous, acute, papyraeceous spathe and has to 10, resupinate, non-fragrant, droopy flowers.
" Epidendrum atonum belongs to the 2004 GROUP Excisum SUBGROUP Leucochilum, characterized by the caespitose habit, erect stems with several fleshy leaves, a spathaceous bract, and the inflorescence with numerous star-like flowers, with narrow sepals and petals, and a prominent lip. The new species can be recognized by the short, ancipitose stems with roundish, amplexicaul, coriaceous leaves, the zigzag rachis with a single, successive flower, the pendulous sepals and petals and the deeply 3-lobed lip, with radiating, thickened keels. It is somewhat similar to Epidendrum dalstroemii which has tall, terete, cane-like stems, with a pair of elliptic-orbicular, coriaceous leaves, an erect, lax-flowered, racemose to paniculate inflorescence with large, simultaneous flowers, the petals much reduced, hair-like, and a suborbicular lip at the end of an upright, sigmoid column; the lonely spathaceous bract is small. It may also be close to Epidendrum nigricans Schltr. which has short, thickened stems with two oval, fleshy leaves, an erect, racemose to paniculate inflorescence subtended by a spathaceous bract, with successive flowers of somewhat similar characteristics." Hagsater etal 2004
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; *Icones Orchidacearum Part 7 Plate 708 Hagsater 2004 drawing fide
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