Epidendrum brachypodum Hágsater 2004 GROUP Alberti SUBGROUP Alberti
Photo by David Nattrass and the Jungle Dragon Website
Another Flower? notice the 2 calli on the lip
Photo by © Johnnier A. Arango-Bermúdez and his Flickr Orchid Photo Website
Photo by © Diego Calderon and his Flickr Orchid Photo Website
TYPE Drawing by © Jimenez, Hágsater & E.Santiago and The AMO Herbario Website
Common Name The Short Foot Epidendrum [refers to the short, pedunculate inflorescence]
Flower Size 1.2" [3 cm]
Found in west central Colombia on the western slope of the Cordillera Occidental in cloud forests at elevations around 2300 meters as a large sized, cold growing terrestrial with simple, cane-like, laterally compressed, ancipitose, wide, straight stems carrying numerous, all along the stem, alternate, articulate, elliptic, oblong, rounded apically leaves that blooms in the spring [probably throughout the year] on a terminal and lateral, racemose, producing successive racemes in time, 2.2" [5.5 cm] long including the short peduncle, successively single, few flowered inflorescence enveloped by, tubular at the base, conduplicate above, imbricating, ancipitose, subacute bracts and has much shorter than the ovary, conduplicate, subacute, imbricating floral bracts.
CAUTION... The First photo appears to be correct in all respects with only one raised central calli on the lip apex but the second photo also is close to all the references but it differs in having a hooded column apex, and 2 divaricate calli instead of one raised central one so please use with caution!!!! The Type drawing is absolutely correct.
"Epidendrum brachypodum belongs to the GROUP Alberti SUBGROUP Alberti which is characterized by the caespitose habit, with numerous, green or purple-colored leaves, the laterally flattened stems with apical and lateral inflorescences, the apical one with an ancipitose peduncle terminating in a conduplicate spathaceous bract somewhat larger but similar to the floral bracts, and one to several racemes of imbricating, conduplicate, rounded bracts which produce one flower at a time. The species is recognized by the short apical peduncle of the inflorescence, relatively wide floral segments, elliptic sepals, wide, spathulate-obtrullate petals, with the lateral veins branching from the base and the entire, orbicular-subrhombic, cordate, truncate lip. It closely resembles Epidendrum phyllocharis Rchb. f. which nas a prominent peduncle on the apical inflorescence, narrower (ca. .12" [3 mm], spreading, linear-elliptic sepals, the three veins of the petals simple, a cordiform, trullate-truncate, more or less hexagonal lip, the flowers white tinged with pinkish bronze. Epidendrum hexagonum Hágsater & Dodson has the same general characters, but the plants and flowers are green and larger. Epidendrum ingramii Hágsater & Carcía-Cruz has acuminate floral bracts, and an acuminate lip, the flowers greenish tinged with purple." Hagsater etal 2004
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; *Icones Orchidaceaum 7 Plate 715 Hagsater & Sanchez 2004 drawing good; Icones Orchidacearum 7 Plate 741 Hagsater and Sanchez 2004 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 9 Plate 973 Hagsater 2007 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 14 Plate 1442 Hagsater & Santiago 2013 See recognition section; Orchids of the Department of Valle De Cauca Colombia Vol 2 Kolanowska, Hagsater etal. 2014 drawing/photo good
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