Epidendrum cleefii Hágsater & E.Santiago 2009 GROUP Andean SUBGROUP Cernuum

TYPE Drawing by © Jimenez and The AMO Herbaria Website

Common Name Cleef's Epidendrum [Dutch Botanist collected in Colombia dicovered type current]

Flower Size 1" [2.5 cm]

Found in northern Colombia on the slopes of the Nevada de Santa Marta at elevations of 3100 to 3300 meters as a medium sized, cold growing epiphyte or terrestrial with subterete, cane-like, erect, straight, branching sub apically stems carrying numerous on the main stem, 6 to 10 each on the branches, all along the stems, alternate, articulate, unequal in size, basally smaller, oblong-lanceolate, rounded apically, minutely apiculate, coriaceous, smooth, green margin apically crenulate leaves that blooms in the later summer on a terminal, occuring only once, racemose, arching-nutant, peduncle short, terete, thin, straight, provided with a single, basal, linear-lanceolate, acute, amplexicual bract, simultaneously to 25 flowered inflorescence with much shorter than the ovary, linear-lanceolate, acuminate, amplexicaul floral bracts and carrying resupinate, membraneous, light brown flowers.

"Epidendrum cleefii belongs to the GROUP Andean SUBGROUP Cernuum, characterized by the long, erect, cane-like stems with sub-apical branching, leaves oblong, sub-coriaceous, with the apex obtuse and the 3-lobed lip and the prominent, funnel-shaped clinandrium. The species is recognized by the oblong-lanceolate leaves, lax-flowered inflorescence with light brown flowers, the sepals prominently awned, and the midlobe narrowly oblong, obtuse. It is very similar to E. cernuum, but that species has a very dense inflorescence with greenish yellow flowers, and the midlobe sub-rectangular, truncate and minutely apiculate. Epidendrum brevicernuum Hágsater has a much shorter inflorescence, green to greenish white flowers, and the midlobe sub-quadrate, nearly as wide as it is long, and emarginate." Hagsater etal 2009

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Icones Orchidacearum 12 Plate 1218 Hagsater 2009 see recognition section; *Icones Orchidacearum 12 Plate 1224 Hagsater & Santiago 2009 Drawing fide; Orquideas, Tesoro de Colombia Vol 2 Ortiz & Uribe 2017;

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