Epidendrum berbicense Hágsater & L.Sánchez 2009 GROUP Difforme

TYPE Drawing by Hagsater & Sanchez and The AMO Herbaria Website

EARLIER

Common Name The Berbice River Epidendrum

Flower Size 1” [2.5 cm]

Found in eastern Guyana at elevations around 50 meters as a miniature sized, hot growing epiphyte with simple, cane-like, laterally compressed towards the apex, slightly flexuous stems carrying 4 to 7, all along the stem, lanceolate-elliptic, coriaceous, smooth, glaucous green, retuse to unequally bilobed apically, minutely aristate, margin entire leaves that blooms in the earlier spring on a terminal, erect, arising on a mature stem, peduncle short, inconspicuous, sub-umbellate, simultaneously 1 to 2 flowered inflorescence with much shorter than the ovary, triangular, acute floral bracts and carrying resupinate, cream colored flowers.

"Epidendrum berbicense belongs to the GROUP Difforme which is characterized by the caespitose, sympodial plants, fleshy, pale green to glaucous leaves, apical inflorescence, sessile, rarely with a short peduncle, single flowered to corymbose, without spathaceous bracts, fleshy, green to yellowish green rarely white flowers. The species is recognized by the laterally compressed stems with 1 to 2, cream-colored flowers, the 3-lobed lip, the lateral lobes semiorbicular, the midlobe with a deep sinus and forming a pair of small, rounded lobes, calli small, sub-globose. It is similar to Epidendrum oldemanii Christenson, which is known only from central French Guyana, at elevations of 200 to 350 meters, has 2, yellowish green flowers with a reniform, bilobed lip with a sinuous margin. Epidendrum sertorum Garay & Dunst. is known from Colombia and Venezuela, at elevations of 170 to 500 meters has 3 to 7 brilliant yellowish green flowers, the column cream-colored, lip entire, cordiform, apex acute, the disc with strongly thickened veins. Epidendrum amapense Hágsater & L.Sánchez is found in the French Guyana and neighboring Brazil, the lateral lobes of the lip are semi-ovate, the midlobe shorter than the lateral lobes, transversely oblong, slightly emarginate, with a mucro in the sinus." Hagsater etal 2009

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; *Icones Orchidacearum 12 Plate 1208 Hagsater & Sanchez 2009 drawing/photo fide

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