Epidendrum carautaense Hágsater & L.Sánchez 2009GROUP Mancum

TYPE Drawing by Hagsater & Jimenez and The AMO Herbaria Website

Common Name The Carauta Epidendrum [A Town in Colombia near where the type was collected]

Flower Size .4” [1 cm]

Found in Antioquia department of Colombia in cloud forest at elevations around 3000 meters as a small sized, cold growing orchid with cane-like, erect, straight, basally terete, somewhat laterally cvompressed towards the apex stems enveloped basally by 2, non-foliar, scarious, minutely striated, tubular sheaths and carrying a single, apical, sessile, linear-oblong, canaliculate, obtuse, margin entire leaf that blooms on a terminal, racemose, elongate, peduncle to 1.2" [3 cm] long, erect, straight, laterally compressed, enveloped totally by a single, oblong, ancipitous, acute, spathe, rachis to 2.8" 7 cm] long, laxly simultaneously 45 flowered inflorescence with much shorter than the ovary, triangular-lanceolate, acute, amplexicaul floral bract and carrying resupinate, somewhat fleshy flowers.

Only the type has been examined and there is no record of the flower color.

"Epidendrum carautaënse belongs to the GROUP Mancum which is characterized by the sympodial habit, few-leaved stems, racemose inflorescence with 1 to 2 ancipitose, long, spathaceous bracts with parallel sides; the precise sub-grouping has not been worked out. The species is recognized by the unifoliate stems, the blade thickened and sulcate, lateral lobes of the lip very small, erect, transversely rectangular; midlobe narrowly triangular, fleshy, acute, minutely apiculate, arched upwards, the column ventrally canaliculate at the base, with a pair of prominent, apical, rounded, fleshy wings. Epidendrum lirion Hágsater & Dodson is to some extent reminiscent of this species, sharing the upright lateral lobes of the lip embracing the apex of the column, though much larger and rounded, and the subquadrate midlobe is also arched upwards in front of the apex of the column, otherwise the flowers are snow-white, non-resupinate, sepals and petals much wider, elliptic. There are two more species with a similar habit, but longer ovaries .48 to 1" [12 to 25 mm] long, Epidendrum cylindraceum Lindl., which has short, angular column-wings, the ovary verrucose towards the apex, wide, flat leaves, a compact raceme, the lateral lobes of the lip larger, falcate, the margin entire with the subrectangular midlobe dilated towards the apex and forming two small lobes. Epidendrum elgantissimum F.C.Lehm. & Kraenzl. has short, falcate column-wings, non-resupinate flowers, the lateral lobes of the lip progressively laciniate, and the midlobe ob-cuneate, with the margin deeply laciniate." Hagsater etal 2009

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; *Icones Orchidacearum 12 plate 1213 Hagsater & Chocce 2009 drawing fide; Orquideas, Tesoro de Colombia Vol 2 Ortiz & Uribe 2017

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------