Epidendrum bispathulatum Hágsater, O.Pérez & E.Santiago 2010 GROUP Pseuedepidenrum SUBGROUP Paniculatum
Photo by © Oscar Perez Escobar/TYPE Drawing by Hágsater, O.Pérez & E.Santiago and The AMO Herbaria Website
Common Name The Two Spatula Epidendrum [refers to the peculiar lobes of the midlobe of the lip which are widened towards the apex and obliquely truncate]
Flower Size 1” [2.5 cm]
Found in the departments of Antioquia, Caldas and Valle de Cauca Colombia on the eastern slope of the Cordillera Occidental at elevations of 1600 to 2200 meters as a giant sized, cool to cold growing epiphyte with simple, canelike, basaslly terete, laterally compressed above, erect in youth, arching to pendent in maturity stems carrying 18 to 33, all along the stem, articulate, alternate, unequal in size, basal and apical ones shorter, membraneous, ellitpic, acute, entire margined leaves that blooms in the winter and spring on a terminal, erect, paniculate, peduncle subterete, short, provided in the middle by a single, triangular, acute, amplexicaul bract, rachis slightly flexuous, branches sreading, congested, each subtended with an amplexicaul, triangular, acuminate bract, many flowered inflorescence with inconspicuous, deltate, amplexicaul floral bracts and carrying resupinate, weakly fragrant flowers with creamy yellow proximally sepals, distally greenish, petals somewhat proximally somewhat greenish, creamy yellow towards the middle and apex, basal half of column greenish, spical half creamy yellow, lip creamy yellow, the midlobe somewhat pale greenish towards the apex.
"Epidendrum bispathulatum belongs to the GROUP Pseuedepidenrum which is characterized by caespitose plants, cane-like stems, acute to acuminate leaves, usually apical inflorescence, the filiform petals and the lip usually 3-lobed with 3 to 5 parallel fleshy keels, the apical lobe often bifurcate, and “bird-wing” type pollinia, and the SUBGROUP Paniculatum, which has green and white flowers, often marked with purple on the disc of the lip and apex of the column. The species is recognized by the very long, many leaved, tall stems, the large panicle with spreading branches, greenish yellow and white flowers, not marked with purple, and especially the bilobed mid-lobe of the lip with the lobes spatulate, widened towards the apex and obliquely truncate, the apical margin erose. Epidendrum cirrhochilum F. Lehm. & Kraenzl. has shorter stems, fewer, proportionately narrower, acuminate leaves, and similar flowers, but the lateral lobes and lobes of the mid-lobe long and cirrhose, the lip has a circular purple ring surrounding the disc of the lip. Epidendrum cirrochiloides Hágsater & E.Santiago from Panama has larger, wider leaves, white to greenish flowers, the lip with purple stripes on the disc, and the apex of the lobes of the lip acuminate, the margin entire. Epidendrum longicrure Schltr. has strongly reflexed sepals, flowers greenish brown, the lateral lobes of the lip dolabriform, and the mid-lobe formed by a pair of oblong lobes with the margin entire. Epidendrum cirrhohirtzii Hágsater & E.Santiago has smaller greenish yellow flowers with sepals .2 to .24" [5 to 6 mm] long, the lip pale yellow, with the apices of the lobes cirrhose." Hagsater etal 2010
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; *Icones Orchidacearum 13 plate 1307 Hagsater & Collantes 2010 drawing fide; An Illustrated Field Guide to the Orchids of The Yotoco Forest Reserve Kolanowska, Escobar, Parra-Sanchez and Szlachetko 2011 drawing/photo fide; Orchids of the Department of Valle De Cauca Colombia Vol 2 Kolanowska, Hagsater etal. 2014 drawing/photo fide; Icones Orchidacearum 13 Plate 1318 Hagsater & Santiago 2010 See recognition section; Orquideas de Farallones de Cali Galindo-Tarazona, Haelterman, Zuluaga Trochez and Sebastian Moreno 2020 photo fide
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