Epidendrum brachyblastum Hágsater & Dodson 2004 GROUP Biccirhatum

TYPE Drawing by Hagsater and The AMO Herbaria Website

Common Name The Short Shoot Epidendrum [refers to the short apical appendages of the midlobe of the lip]

Flower Size .5” [1.25 cm]

Found in central Ecuador on the Amazon watershed of the Andes at elevations around 1225 meters as a small sized, cool growing epiphyte with simple, cane-like, terete stems carrying several, all along the apical 2/3's of the stem, suberect, subcoriaceous, narrowly elliptic, acuminate, minutely apiculate, entire margined leaves that blooms in the fall on a terminal, racemose, short, arching, peduncle short, terete, thin, provided with basal, similar to the floral bracts but longer bracts, simultaneously 3 or more flowered inflorescence with triangular, lanceolate, acuminate floral bracts and carrying resupinate, deep green flowers with the lip and the apical half of the column snow white.

"Epidendrum brachyblastum belongs to the GROUP Biccirhatum which is characterized by the caespitose habit, simple, cane-like stems, short, arching, pluriracemose, subcapitate inflorescence, narrowly spathulate petals, 3-lobed lip, generally with cirrhate apical lobes and unequal, laterally compressed poliinia, with the inner pair smaller. The new species has deep green flowers with the lip and apical half of the column snow white, the lateral lobes of the lip are narrow and the apical cirrhose and short. It closely resembles Epidendrum tiwinzaense Hágsater & Dodson which has pale green flowers, with the column and lip cream-colored, sepals .24 to .28" [6 to 7 mm] long, the lip with very wide, dolabriform lateral lobes. It also closely resembles Epidendrum bicirrhatum which has opaque, pale cream-orange flowers, the sepals and petals green at the base, the tips of the calli keels lavender, and the column white at the base, cream-yellow above. Epidendrum hugomedinae Hágsater & Dodson is vegetatively similar, but has very attractive, fragrant, snow-white flowers with the keels of the lip tinged violet and the obcuneate midlobe formed by two, somewhat divergent, rounded, lobes. The Bolivian Epidendrum ophidion Dodson & Vásquez is quite similar, but has successive, white flowers with three purple lines on the disc of the lip, pustulate sepals .24 to .32" [6 to 8 mm] long, and the dolabriform lateral lobes have a crenulate margin." Hagsater etal 2004

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; *Icones Orchidacearum 7 plate 713 Hagsater 2004 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 7 Plate 745 Hagsater and Sanchez 2004 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 7 Plate 795 Hagsater and Sanchez 2004 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 16(1) plate 1616 Hagsater etal 2018 recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 16[1} Plate 1666 Hagsater & Sanchez 2018 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 16[2] Plate 1690 Hagsater & Sanchez 2018 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 17(1) Plate 1754 Hagsater & Jimenez 2019 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 18(2) Plate 1887 Hagsater & Jimenez 2021

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