Epidendrum ceticaudatum Rinc.-González, Villanueva & E.Santiago 2015 GROUP Physinga
TYPE Photo by © Rincón-González, Villanueva et E.Santiago/ TYPE Drawing by Jimenez and The AMO Herbaria Website
LATE 
EARLY
Common Name The Whale Tail Epidendrum [refers to the lip apex shape]
Flower Size 1.28" [2.7 cm]
Found in Valle de Cauca department of Colombia at elevations around 70 meters as a small sized, hot growing epiphyte with cane-like, terete in the basal half, somewhat laterally compressed in the upper half, thin, arching stems carrying 4 to 8, all along the apical half, linear-lanceolate, acuminate, margin entire, deep green above and glaucous below leaves that blooms in the late winter and early spring on a terminal, arching, racemose, same stem produces inflorescence over several years, peduncle 4 to 6.4" [10 to 16 cm] filiform, zig-zag, provided with 4 bracts becoming progressively shorter, rachis .6 to 1" [1.5 to 2.5 cm] long, filiform, slightly sinuous, 6 to 88.8" [15 to 222 cm] long overall, lax, successively single, 3 to 10 flowered inflorescence with much shorter than the ovary, ovate, clasping floral bracts and carrying resupinate, non fragrant flowers with the tepals lustrous pale pink, lip white and the column pink.
"Epidendrum ceticaudatum belongs to the GROUP Physinga which is characterized by to the generally small, caespitose plants, the inflorescence apical and racemose producing new racemes with time and thus pluriracemose, the successive flowers opening one at a time on an elongate peduncle with acuminate bracts, the lip entire and the ovary with a prominent vesicle. The species is recognized by the bell-shaped lip, apex truncate, minutely apiculate, petals .528 x .044" [13.2 x 1.1 mm] long, lateral sepals slightly falcate, 54.8 x .088" [13.7 x 2.2 mm] long, slightly arched column of .32" [8 mm] long. It is closely resembles Epidendrum hellerianum which has a 3-lobed lip, and larger flowers, petals .12 x .08" [30 x 2 mm], lateral sepals linear 1 to 1.2" x .12 to .16" [25 to 30 x 3 to 4 mm], column straight o.6 to .68" [15 to 17 mm] long." Hagsater etal 2015
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; *Icones Orchidacearum 15 [1] Plate 1511 Rinc.-González, Villanueva & E.Santiago 2015 drawing/photo fide; Orquideas, Tesoro de Colombia Vol 2 Ortiz & Uribe 2017 photo fide; Icones Orchidacearum 17(1) Plate 1734 Hagsater & Jimenez 2019 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 17(1) Plate 1738 Hagsater & Jimenez 2019 see recognition setion; Icones Orchidacearum 17(1) Plate 1789 Hagsater & Jimenez 2019 see recognition section;
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