Epidendrum borealistachyum Hágsater, E.Santiago & C.F.Fernández 2015 GROUP Macrostachyum SUBGROUP Macrostachyum
TYPE Photo by © C Fernandez/Drawing by © R Jimenez and The AMO Herbaria Website
Common Name The Northern Ear Of Corn Epidendrum [refers to the inflorescence shape]
Flower Size .8” [2 cm]
Found in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and northern Peru along the cordillera oriental at elevations of 1800 to 3300 meters as a large to giant sized, cool to cold growing terrestrial and rarely epiphytic orchid with a cane-like, basally terete, slightly laterally compressed towards the apex, erect, straight, branching when mature, new stem aries from the subapical nodes of the previous stem and carrying about 14 on the main stem, all along the stem, articulate, alternate, similar in size, [smaller on the branches], lanceolate, obtuse, margin denticulate towards the apex leaves that blooms at most any time of the year, on a terminal, racemose, ocurring only once, peduncle terete, green, sometimes scarcely tinged with purple, .4 to .6" [1 to 1.5 cm] long, pyramidal, helicodial, laxly successively few, 11 to 30 flowered inflorescence with, small, shorter than the ovary, diminishing in size towards the apex, narrowly triangular, acute, amplexicaul floral bracts and carrying non-resupinate, fleshy flowers that are pale greyish lilac, the lip white, the column bicolored, with the base green and becoming deep purple apically.
"Epidendrum borealistachyum belongs to the GROUP Macrostachyum SUBGROUP Macrostachyum, which is characterized by the monopodial plants with sub-apical branching, rugose leaf sheaths, large leaves generally spreading, racemose, erect inflorescence, and fleshy flowers generally green to black (ripe olive colored), as well as yellow to pink to purple, with an entire, conduplicate, generally ecallose and pubescent lip embracing the column, and the nectary pubescent to papillose in front of the stigmatic cavity and at least at the base of the lip. The species is recognized by the lanceolate leaves of the main stem 3.6 to 5.2" x .52 to 1.04" [9 to 13 x 1.3 to 2.6 cm], erect, short, laxly few-flowered inflorescence with flowers pale grayish lilac, lip white, the column bicolor, base green, deep purple at the apex, small bracts, .2 to .4" 5 to 10 mm long, and the widely triangular lip, base truncate. Epidendrum macrostachyum has large plants, to 60" [150 cm] tall, leaves elliptic-lanceolate, those of the main stem 5to 5.2" x 1.2 to 1.4" [12.5 to 13 x 3.0 to 3.5 cm], elongate inflorescence, densely many-flowered, flowers dark blackish brown as are ripe olives or ripe red grapes; floral bracts are very prominent and cymbiform, .32 to .72" [8 to 18 mm] long, and the lip is widely cordiform, the base cordate. Epidendrum microcarpum Hágsater & Dodson is vegetatively very similar, but the inflorescence is much shorter, to 2" [5 cm] long, flowers are yellowish green, concolor, somewhat smaller, sepals .24 to .28" [6.0 to 6.5 mm] long, and the apex of the column is straight; the lip has a pair of very small, parallel calli. Epidendrum palaciosii Hágsater & Dodson has simultaneous, pale purple-brown flowers, sepals .24 to .32" [6 to 8 mm] long and are dorsally muricate to minutely echinate, the lip is deltate, strongly pubescent. Epidendrum notostachyum Hágsater & E.Santiago, has green to greenish white flowers, sepals dorsally papillose and a short nectary, without penetrating the ovary. There is another species in Trujillo state, Venezuela which is recognized by the narrowly elliptic to elliptic leaves 3.08 to 5.2" x .8 to 1.68" [7.7 to 13 x 2.0 to 4.1 cm] (on the primary stem), inflorescences cylindrical, densely many-flowered, flowers dorsally lilac tinged wine-red, sepals .32 to .36" [8 to 9 mm] long. There is one collection from the Cerro Turimiquire, Steyermark 62591, in Sucre state, growing on sandstone slopes, which appears to be similarly colored, and which we have not been able to study in detail; the locality is very isolated." Hagsater etal 2015
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; *Icones Orchidacearum 15 [1] plate 1505 Hagsater, Santiago & Fernandez 2015 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 15 [1] Plate 1545 Hagsater & Sanchez 2015 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 15 [2] Plate 1586 Hagsater & Sanchez 2016 see recognition section; Orquideas, Tesoro de Colombia Vol 2 Ortiz & Uribe 2017 photo fide;
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