Epidendrum croatii Hágsater 1999 GROUP Spathiger SUBGROUP Coriifolium

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

Part sun Warm CoolLATE Winter EARLYSpring

Common Name Croat's Epidendrum [American Collector of Species current]

Flower Size .6" [1.5 cm]

Found in Panama in wet forests at elevations of 900 to 1200 meters as a mini-miniature sized, warm to cool growing epiphyte with simple, cane-like, erect, laterally compressed towards the apex stems and carrying 2 to 3, all along the stem, distichous, coriaceous, elliptic to oblong, unequally bilobed leaves that blooms in the late winter and early spring on a terminal, racemose, occuring only once, distichous, erect, laterally compressed, ancipitose, flexuous, .8 to 2" [2 to 5 cm] long, 1 to 2 flowered inflorescence arising on a mature growth, shorter than the ovary, ovate, conduplicate, rounded, not imbricating floral bracts and carrying 1 to 2, simultaneously opening, greenish flowers.

"Epidendrum croatii GROUP Spathiger SUBGROUP Coriifolium characterized by the sympodial habit, coriaceous leaves, and the racemose, distichous inflorescence carrying fleshy green to purplish flowers. The species is closely related to Epidendrum coriifolium, E. croatii is the smallest species of the group, and can be recognized by the floral bracts which are rounded, rounded, short, not imbricating, the dentate keels of the sepals and margin of the lip and petals are unique to this group. Epidendrum summerhayesii Hágsater also has rounded bracts, but these are imbricating and plants are large and deep green with maroon tinge, the successive, numerous flowers usually purple. Epidendrum coriifolium is found in Mexico and Guatemala, and has compact plants, the inflorescence about as long as the apical leaf, and flowers are simultaneous. Epidendrum caluerorum Hágsater has long, narrow leaves and acute, subparallel bracts about as long as the ovary, on a long peduncle." Hagsater etal 1999

Synonyms

ReferencesW3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; *Icones Orchidacearum 3 Plate 328 Hagsater & Salazar 1999 drawing fide

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