Epidendrum brachyoothistachyum Hágsater & E.Santiago 2015 GROUP Macrostachyum SUBGROUP Macrostachyum

TYPE Drawing by Hagsater & Santiago and The AMO Herbaria Website

Common Name The Short Ovary Ear of Corn Epidendrum [refers to the short ovary and the inflorescence shape]

Flower Size 1.6” [4 cm]

Found in southern Colombia and northern Ecuador on the western slope of the Andes at elevations around 670 to 680 meters as a small sized, large to giant sized, warm growing epiphyte with cane-like, laterally compressed, branching when mature, erect stems carrying numerous, all along the stem, articulate, alternate, spreading, elliptic, subacute, margin entire leaves that blooms in the winter and early spring on a terminal, erect, racemose, ocurring only once, peduncle to .4" [1 cm] long, laterally compressed, erect, straight, rachis to 4.8" [12 cm] long, laterally compressed, simultaneously 17 flowered inflorescence with prominent, slightly longer than the ovary, gradually diminishing in size towards the apex, widely ovate, obtuse, clasping floral bracts and carrying non-resupinate, fleshy, green flowers with a greenish yellow lip.

"Epidendrum brachyoothistachyum 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 large flowers with sepals .68" [17 mm] long, green, with the lip greenish yellow, leaves elliptic 3.6 to 5" x 1.04 to 1.4" [9 to 12.5 x 2.6 to 3.5 cm], sepals ovate-elliptic, acute, the ovary very short, .24" [6 mm] long, and the apex of the anther rostrate. Epidendrum humeadorense Hágsater & Dodson has similar colored flowers but the rachis is flexuous, sepals reflexed and the petals elliptic, the lip truncate at the base, and the anther short, obtuse. Epidendrum obovatipetalum Hágsater & Dodson, while vegetatively similar, has white flowers tinged purple, sepals rounded apically, ovary .4 to .44" [10 to 11 mm] long, and the apex of the anther short and rounded, the lip triangular with the base truncate. Epidendrum ariasii Hágsater & Dodson, has elliptic-lanceolate leaves .52 to .92" [1.4 to 2.3 cm] wide, sepals obovate, apex rounded, .52" [14 mm] long, flowers are successive and reddish orange, the ovary .56 to .76" [14 to 19 mm] long." Hagsater etal 2015

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; *Icones Orchidacearum 15 [1] plate 1507 Hagsater 2015 drawing fide; Orquideas, Tesoro de Colombia Vol 2 Ortiz & Uribe 2017 photo fide;

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