Epidendrum chuspipatense Hágsater & R.Vásquez 2004 GROUP Alberti SUBGROUP Allenii

TYPE Drawing by © M. Lopez R. and The AMO Herbaria Website

Common Name The Chuspipata Epidendrum [A town in Bolivia near where the species was found]

Flower Size 1.6" [4 cm]

Found in western Bolivia in humid montane forests on roadbanks at elevations of 2150 to 2590 meters as a giant sized, cold growing terrestrial with simple, cane-like, laterally compressed, ancipitose, straight stems carrying numerous, all along the apical half, alternate, subequal, elliptic, shortly acuminate, margin entire leaves that blooms in the summer through fall on a terminal, racemose, erect, several arising at once from the same stem, peduncle elongate, enveloped completely by 2, tubular, ancipitose, conduplicate, acute bracts successively single, to 6 or more flowered inflorescence with slightly shorter than the ovary, lanceolate, subacute, ancipitose, conduplicate, imbricating, the apical ones shorter floral bracts and carrying resupinate flowers with the tepals yellow to green, column and lip are white.

"Epidendrum chuspipatense belongs to the GROUP Alberti SUBGROUP Allenii 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 fioral bracts, and one to several racemes of imbricating, conduplicate, rounded bracts which produce one flower at a time. The species is recognized by the tall, ancipitose stems, the peduncle completely covered by conduplicate bracts, successive, pale yellow flowers, the column and lip white, cordiform and obtuse to suborbicular and emarginate lip, with the column thin at the base and expanded into a prominent, stralght, wide clinandrium hood, much longer than the body of the column which is hidden and arching downwards. It is similar to Epidendrum hexagonum from northwestern Ecuador which has green fiowers, a hexagonal, truncate lip and a short, entire clinandrium-hood." Hagsater etal 2004

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; *Icones Orchidacearum 7 Plate 724 Hagsater & Vasquez 2004 Drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 14 Plate 1442 Hagsater & Santiago 2013 See recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 16[1] Plate 1649 Hagsater & Sanchez 2018 see recognition section;

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