Epidendrum congestoides Ames & C.Schweinf. 1930 GROUP Nanodes

Drawing

Photo by © Drawing by © Jimenez, Hágsater & E.Santiago and The AMO Herbario Website

Full shadeHotWarmWinter and again in LATE Spring

Common Name The Congestum-Like Epidendrum

Flower Size 1.2" [3 cm]

Found in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica in mangroves and rainforests at elevations of sea-level to 1000[1800] meters as a mini-miniature sized, hot to warm, pendant growing epiphyte with a simple, cane-like, laterally compressed, erect stems enveloped completely by leaf bearing sheaths and carrying 7 to 11, all along the stem, spreading, distichous, unequal, non-articulate, succulent, basally imbricating, glaucous, green, oblong to ovate-oblong, amplexicaul and conduplicate basally, obtuse, unequally bilobed, strongly revolute margins, with a dorsal keel, minutely dentate-fimbriate apically leaves that blooms in the winter and again in the late spring on a terminal, sessile, occuring only once, usually 2 flowered inflorescence with slightly shorter than the ovary, obovate, rounded, conduplicate, imbricating, unequal, apical margin dentate floral bracts and carrying simultaneously opening, non-resupinate, fleshy flowers.

This species along with E congestum, E uleinanodes are similar to E schlechterianum and many references put them all as synonyms of E schlechterianum but I follow Hagsater and leave them all separate.

"Epidendrum congestoides belongs to the GROUP Nanodes, characterized by the caespitose to creeping, sympodial plants, the short stems completely covered by the base of the non-articulate, fleshy, imbricating leaves, and the sessile, few-flowered inflorescence. The species is recognized by the two-flowered inflorescence, greenish bronze or reddish-purple tinted flowers, sepals ovate to ovate-lanceolate, .32 to .52" [8 to 13 mm] long, the lip reniform-semi-orbicular, somewhat embracing the short column .18 to .264" [4.5 to 6.6 mm] lon) in natural position, and the anther is short. Epidendrum congestum Rolfe has 2 to 3, smaller flowers with sepals .28 to .4" [7 to 10 mm] long and the lip cordiform, with the apex acute, anther obovate and apically truncate. E schlechterianum which has relatively long, greenish purple to olive green flowers tinged with red, the oblong-lanceolate sepals are .68 to .8" [17 to 20 mm long, and the lip cordate-reniform, minutely apiculate, the column .4 to .56" [10 to 14 mm] long with the anther elongate, subacute and apically dentate. E uleinanodes from Manaus to the foothills of the Andes in Ecuador and Peru has 4 flowers, a fimbriate clinandrium-hood and prominent, upturned, rounded lobes at the apex of the column." Hagsater etal 2007

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Venezuelan Orchids Illustrated Vol 1 Dunsterville & Garay 1961 as Epidendrum schlecterianum drawing fide; Die Orchideen #8 29-32 tafel 8 Rudolph Schlechter 1971 as Nanodes congestioides photo fide; Die Orchideen 3 Auflage Bd 1 Sonderabdruck aus Schlechter Lieferung 9 513 - 576 Brieger, Maatsch and Senghas 1977 as Nanodes congestoides drawing/photo fide; Orchids of Venezuela [An illustrated field guide] Vol. 1 Dunsterville and Garay 1979 as Nanodes discolor drawing fide; Field Guide to the Orchids of Costa Rica and Panama Dressler 1993; Icones Orchidacearum 2 Plate 136 Hagsater 1993 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 3 Plate 363 Hagsater 1999 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 3 Plate 392 Hagsater 1999 see recognition section; Orchids of Venezuela [An illustrated field guide] Vol. 1 Ramiro and Carnevali 2000 drawing fide; Rudolf Schlechter Die Orchideen Band 1C lieferung 42 - 43 pg 2626 - 2762 Brieger 2001 as Nanodes congestioides; Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana Vol 7 Steyermark, Berry, Yatskievych and Holst 2003; Manual de las Plantas de Costa Rica Vol 3 Hammel, Grayum, Herrera and Zamora 2003;Icones Orchidacearum 9 Plate 920 Hagsater 2007 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 9 Plate 921 Hagsater 2007 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 9 Plate 982 Hagsater 2007 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 9 Plate 986 Hagsater 2007 see recognition section; Orchids of Costa Rica Vol 1 Morales 2009 photo fide; Miniature Orchids, A Compendium Parsons and Gerritson 2013 photo fide; Orchid Genera and Species in Guatemala Archila, Szlachchetko, Chiron, Lipinska, Mystkowska and Bertolini 2018; Icones Orchidacearum 17(1) Plate 1751 Hagsater & Jimenez 2019 see recognition section;

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