TYPE Photo by C. D. Chilón/TYPE Drawing by R. Jiménez M. and The AMO Herbario Website
Common Name The Chugur Epidendrum [the district where the orchid has been found]
Flower Size 1/2" [1.25 cm]
Found in Cajamarca department of Peru from fragmented montane forest of Polylepis multijuga Pilg. at elevations around 2700 meters as a small sized, cold growiing epiphyte with stems forming fusiform pseudobulbs, smooth, green when young to slightly furrowed and tinged red when mature covered by 2 to 3, non-foliar, scarious and becoming fibrous through time sheaths and carrying 1 to 2, apical, articulate, coriaceous, sub-parallel, green, concolor sheaths; blade elliptic, acuminate, margin entire, spreading leaves that blooms in the winter on a terminal, without a spathe, peduncle 1 to 2.48" [2.5 to 6.2 cm] long, laterally compressed, thin, erect, straight, pale green; rachis 6.5-8.0 cm long, 3.6 to 5.6" [9 to 14 cm] long, apical, erect, racemose, densely simultaneously 20 to 36 flowered inflorescence with embracing, acuminate, unequal in shape and size, the basal bracts sometimes very prominent, leaf-like, linear-lanceolate, coriaceous, dark green, much longer than the flower, gradually diminishing in size and then narrowly triangular, greenish yellow floral bracts and carrying generally resupinate, greenish yellow flowers with the lip creamy green slightly tinged pink, the margin greenish white, apex of the column and anther reddish pink and the fragrance was not registered.
The herbaceous vegetation is predominantly made of Coreopsis sherffii S.F.Blake. The rainy season is during the months of May to September.
"Epidendrum chugurense belongs to the GROUP Rupestre , which is characterized by caespitose, sympodial plants, pseudobulbous stems with 1 to 4 fully developed leaves toward the apex, the lack of spathes at the base of an erect, racemose or paniculate inflorescence, and the lip ecallose or bicallose and with several fleshy thickened keels on the disc. The new species is recognized by the elliptic leaves, the many-flowered, racemose inflorescence with 20 to 36 greenish yellow flowers, the sepals dorsally pustulate, the petals .16" [4 mm] wide, obovate, apical margin crenate, and the lip pentagonal with irregularly dentate margin, with the two prominent calli laminar, divaricate and a single thickened mid-rib. Epidendrum aida-alvarezii has narrowly elliptic to oblanceolate leaves, 10 to 15 yellow flowers, petals .048" [1.2 mm] wide, oblanceolate, and a lip obscurely 3-lobed, hexagonal, with 2 ellipsoid calli and 3 parallel ribs on the disc." Hagsater etal 2020
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Icones Orchidacearum 17(2) Plate 1763 Hagsater & Jimenez 2020 Drawing fide;
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