Epidendrum atwoodchlamys Hágsater 1999 GROUP Polychlamys SUBGROUP Polychlamys
Photo by © Melania Munoz and the Orchid Flor of Bosque de la Paz Biological Reserve Website
TYPE Drawing by © Jimenez, Hágsater & E.Santiago and The AMO Herbario Website
LATE 
Common Name Atwood's Polychlamys Group Large Sized Flower Epidendrum
Flower Size 1.6" [4 cm]
Found in northwestern Costa Rica in highlands at elevations around 1700 meters as a mini-miniature sized, cool growing epiphyte with an erect, simple, cane-like, terete, arcuate stem arising from a previous stem at the 4th to 6th internode carrying 2 at the apex of the newer stems, coriaceous, ovate, acute, retuse, margin entire leaves that blooms in the late spring on a terminal, occuring only once, distichous, racemose, erect, 1.6 to 2.4" [4 to 6 cm] long, several flowered inflorescence with longer than the ovary, conduplicate, ovate, obtuse to rounded, glumaceous floral bract and carrying 4 to 7, more or less simultaneous flowers.
Easily distinguished from others by the small, ovate leaves and the large, yellow green flowers with sepals that are .72 to .84" [1.8 to 2.1 cm] long, a suborbicular lip that is basally cordate and the ovary is without an evident nectary.
"Epidendrum atwoodchlamys belongs to the GROUP Polychlamys SUBGROUP Polychlamys characterized by the successive lateral growths arising from the middle of the previous stem carrying a few leaves towards the apex and has a distichous, apical inflorescence with prominent, conduplicate, acute, glumaceous floral bracts. The species is distinguished from other members of the group by the short, ovate leaves, the large greenish-yellow flowers, the sepals .72 to .84" [18 to 21 mm] long, the simple ovary without spur and the suborbicular lip, cordate at the base. Epidendrum estrellense has longer leaves 3.2 to 4.8" [8 to 12 cm], flowers about half the size with the sepals .4" [10 mm] long. Epidendrum polychlamys has a suborbicular to wide-oblong, non-cordiform lip and narrow, ligulate sepals .42 [13 mm] long." Hagsater etal 1999
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; *Icones Orchidaceaum 3 Plate 310 Hagsater & Salazar 1999 drawing fide; Manual de las Plantas de Costa Rica Vol 3 Hammel, Grayum, Herrera and Zamora 2003; Vanishing Beauty, Native Costa Rican Orchids Vol 1 Pupulin 2005 photo fide; Icones Orchidacearum Vol 8 Plate 829 Hagsater & Sanchez 2006 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 9 Plate 976 Hagsater 2007 see recognition section;
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