Epidendrum christensonii Hágsater & E.Santiago 2013 GROUP Pseudepidenrum SUBGROUP Paniculatum
TYPE photo by © Moron de Abad/TYPE Drawing by © Jimenez and The AMO Herbaria Website
Common Name Christenson's Epidendrum [American Botanist Orchid Specialist 1956- 2011]
Flower Size .6" [1.5 cm]
Found in southern Ecuador and northern Peru at elevations of 1400 to 1600 meters as a small sized, cool growing epiphyte with simple, cane-like, terete, erect, straight stems carrying 13 all along the stem, distichous, articulate, erect-spreading, unequal in size, basally and apically smaller, narrowly lanceolate-elliptic, shortly acuminate, margin entire, spreading leaves that blooms in the summer on terminal, erect, paniculate, peduncle 1.4" [3.5 cm] long, thin, somewhat laterally compressed, erect, straight, enveloped by 2, tubular, acute, partly imbricating bracts, rachis 1.72 to 2.76" [4.3 to 7.65 cm] long, to 8" [20 cm] long, overall, laxly, simutaneously to 50 flowered inflorescence with small, much shorter that the ovary, narrowly triangular, acuminate, amplexicaul floral bracts and carrying resupinate, pale green with the lip and the apex of the column white.
"Epidendrum christensonii belongs to the GROUP Pseudepidenrum which is characterized by caespitose plants, cane-like stems, acute to acuminate leaves, usually apical inflorescence, the mostly filiform petals and the lip usually 3-lobed, with 3 parallel fleshy keels, the apical lobe often bifurcate, the “bird-wing” type pollinia, at least the inner pair, and the SUBGROUP Paniculatum which has filiform petals, all pollinia “bird-wing” type, green and white flowers, often marked with purple on the disc of the lip and apex of the column. The species is recognized by having small flowers, sepals .304" to .32" [7.6 to 8 mm] long, the green flowers with the lip and apical half of the column white, immaculate, the base of the lip is truncate, the lateral lobes obliquely elliptic with the margin undulate, the mid-lobe divided into a pair of linear-oblong, strongly divaricate, straight lobes. Epidendrum paniculatum Ruiz & Pavón has somewhat larger flowers, sepals .48 to .52" [12 to 13 mm] long, the green and white flowers strongly marked with reddish on the disc of the lip; the base of lip is deeply cordate, the lateral lobes sub-orbicular with the margin sub-entire and the mid-lobe is formed by a pair of prominent, falcate, linear-oblong lobes. Epidendrum agoyanense Hágsater & Dodson has larger plants, larger and wider leaves 1.6 to 6.4" x .64 to 1.88" [4 to 16 x 1.6 to 4.7 cm]; sepals .38 to .48" [9.5 to 12 mm] long, the lateral lobes of the lip are sub-quadrate, and the width of the lip is equal between the lateral as between the apical lobes. Epidendrum parviflorum Ruiz & Pavón has smaller flowers, sepals .2" {5 mm] long, green and white, immaculate, the disc has a single callus which is bilobed at the apex. Epidendrum vallisoletanum Hágsater & E.Santiago, found near Valladolid, Ecuador, has short plants, about 14" [35 cm] tall, green and white flowers, with brown dots on the base of the lip, the sub-quadrate lateral lobes of the lip with the apical margin erose, the single callus apically bilobed and the papillose ovary. NOTE: The type of this plant is the plant illustrated by Christenson (2005) as representing the real Epidendrum paniculatum. However recent work by Franco Pupulin (pers. comm.) in the herbarium of the Botanical Garden in Madrid (MA) has brought to light not only several of the original specimens of Ruiz & Pavón, but also several illustrations prepared during their expedition, one of which we have now been able to compare to modern Peruvian collections, and thus have identified what we think is the true Epidendrum paniculatum described and illustrated elsewhere in this volume." hagsater etal 2013
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Machu Picchu Orchids Christenson 2003 as E paniculatum photo fide; Orch. Digest 75(3): 119. Christenson, Eric A., 2005 as E paniculatum photo/drawing fide; *Icones Orchidacearum 14 Plate 1418 Hágsater & Santiago 2013 Drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 14 Plate 1428 Hagsater & Santiago 2013 See recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 14 Plate 1467 Hagsater & Sanchez 2013 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 14 Plate 1484 Hagsater & Sanchez 2013 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 14 Plate 1494 Hagsater & Santiago 2013 See recognition section;
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