Epidendrum crenulidifforme L.Sánchez & Hágsater 2001 GROUP Difforme

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

LATE

Common Name or Meaning The Crenulate Epidendrum [refers to the lip]

Flower Size 2" [5 cm]

Found in the Dominican Republic on the cordillera central at elevations around 1200 meters as a small sized, cool growing epiphyte with simple, reed-like, terete stems carrying 5 to 6, coriaceous, erect, narrowly lanceolate, bilobed leaves that blooms in the late spring on a terminal, occuring only once, sessile, subumbellate, simultaneously 3 to 4 flowered inflorescence without a spathe but has triangular, acuminate, much shorter than the ovary floral bracts and carrying resupinate, greenish white flowers.

"Epidendrum crenulidifforme belongs to the GROUP Difforme characterized by the caespitose, sympodial plants, fleshy, pale green to glaucous leaves, apical inflorescence, sessile, rarely with a short peduncle, one-flowered to many-flowered, and then corymbose, without spathaceous bracts, fleshy, green to yellowish-green rarely white flowers. The species can be recognized by the terete stems, 3 to 4 flowers, narrowly elliptic-oblong petals, entire lip with crenulate margin, prominent clinandrium. It is similar to E. floridense Hágsater from Florida and widespread in Cuba and Haiti, which has larger plants with many flowers, oblanceolate petals, cordate lip with the margin entire. Other species from the Caribbean Islands include Epidendrum caribiorum widespread from southeastern Cuba to Trinidad and Tobago has large, vigorous plants, laterally compressed stems, narrowly obovate petals and three lobed lip. Epidendrum orientale Hágsater & M.A. Díaz from south-eastern Cuba and Jamaica has short compact plants, bilobed lip with the lobes subovate and sometimes notched at the margin, giving the impression of a 4-lobed lip, and wide, divergent calli. Epidendrum boricuarum Hágsater & L. Sánchez from Cordillera Central of Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, has larger plants, laterally compressed stems, three-lobed, emarginate lip with small drops of nectar, and an arcuate column. Epidendrum difforme Jacq., widespread in the lesser Antilles, has strongly laterally compressed, ancipitose stems, and a 3-lobed lip." Hagsater etal 2001

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Icones Orchidacearum 4 Plate 401 Hagsater 2001 see recognition section; *Icones Orchidaceaeum 4 Plate 429 Hagsater & Sanchez 2001 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum Vol 8 Plate 827 Hagsater & Sanchez 2006 see recognition section; Orchid Flora of the Greater Antilles Ackerman 2014

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