Epidendrum cilioccidentale Hágsater & L.Sánchez 2008GROUP Coilostylis

TYPE Drawing by © Jimenez and The AMO Herbaria Website

LATER

Common Name The Western E Ciliate Epidendrum

Flower Size 2.9 to 5" [7.4 to 12.5 cm]

Found in western Mexico along streams and in pine oak forests at elevations of 450 to 1500 metrs as a warm to cool growing epiphyte or occasional lithophyte with simple, thickened to a fusiform, heteroblastic, straight pseudobulb enveloped in youth by papery sheaths and carrying a single to rarely a second, apical, erect, coriaceous, articulate, elliptic, acute, margin entire leaf that blooms in the later spring and summer on a terminal, erect, racemose, arising on a mature stem, distichous, peduncle laterally compressed, enveloped by 6 to 22, imbricating, acute, progressively longer bracts, rachis terete, thin, straight to slightly sinuous, simultaneously 2 to 6 flowered inflorescence with half as long to somewhat longer than the ovary, oblong-triangular, conduplicate, acuminate floral bracts and carrying resupinate, nocturnally fragrant, white flowers with the tepals yellowish green and the callus white to pale yellow.

CAUTION The TYPE drawing above has measurement mistakes the flowers are much larger than the drawing says. The sepals are 2.9 to 5" [3.7 to 6.3 cm] long not .16" [4 mm].

Very similar to Coilostylis ciliare but it differs in the inflorescence arising on immature stems, the peduncle has only 1 to 6 tubular, oblong triangular bracts, the linear to narrowly ovate petals.

"Epidendrum ciliocciedentale belongs to the GROUP Coilostylis which is characterized by the sympodial, caespitose plants, the stems forming a fusiform, heteroblastic pseudobulb, with an apical, racemose, distichous inflorescence, the peduncle covered by large bracts (but not spathaceous bracts), and flowers large, star-shaped, with long, narrow sepals and petals. The species is recognized by the inflorescence which is produced from the 1 to rarely 2 leaved, mature, fusiform pseudobulb, the peduncle covered by 6 to 22, imbricating, acute bracts. It is closely allied to the widespread E. ciliare L. , which ranges from northwestern Mexico through Central America and the Antilles to south America in northern Brazil and Peru, the inflorescence are produced from lhe immature pseudobulb, and the peduncle is covered by 1 to 6 tubular, oblong-triangular bracts, the petals are linear to narrowly ovate. Epidendrum megalemmum Carnevali & G.A. Romero is found in the lesser Antilles within very dry habitats in eastern Venezuela and northern Guyana, it has 2 to 3 leaves, rarely 1, and the inflorescence has somewhat fewer bracts, 5 to 10, and narrower petals .08 to .124" rarely to .16 to .18" [2 to 3.2 mm rarely 4-4.5 mm]. Epidendrum x dorotheae P.H.Allen is apparently a natural hybrid between Epidendrum nocturnurn Jacq., and E. ciliare, produces flowers from an immature stem, on a rather simple, few-bracted peduncle, and the outer margin of the lateral lobes of the lip serrulate to slightly fimbriate. Epidendrum oerstedii Rchb.f. also flowers from the immature growth, but the margins of the lip are entire, and the midlobe of the lip is widened in the middle." Hagsater etal 2008

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; *Icones Orchidacearum 14 Plate 1110 Hagsater & Sanchez 2008 Drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 13 Plate 1317 Hagsater & Santiago 2010 See recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 16[1] Plate 1641 Hagsater & Sanchez 2018 see recognition section

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