Epidendrum cuyujense Hágsater & Dodson 2001 GROUP Andean SUBGROUP Cernuum

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

LATER

Common Name The Cuyuja Epidendrum [A village east of Quito Ecuador]

Flower Size 1" [2.5 cm]

Found in Ecuador on rocky slopes and roadside banks at elevations around 2700 to 2900 meters as a giant sized, cold growing terrestrial with erect, cane-like, terete, slightly thickening towards the middle stems producing new stems from the upper nodes of the previous stem and carrying numerous, all along upper 1/4 of the stem, narrowly elliptic to lanceolate, unequally bilobed, progressively larger above leaves that blooms in the later fall on a terminal, erect, from both the primary and secondary stems, 2.4 to 3.2" [6 to 8 cm] long, nutant, racemose, 15 to 20 flowered inflorescence with a single basal bract and with narrowly triangular, acuminate, shorter than the ovary floral bracts and carrying simultaneously opening, resupinate, sweetly fragrant, white flowers with the sepals dotted with reddish brown on the exterior and the base of the column is green.

"Epidendrum cuyujense belongs to the GROUP Andean SUBGROUP Cernuum , characterized by the monopodial habit, cane-like stems with subapical branches which are considerably shorter than the main stem, coriaceous to sub-coriaceous leaves, and fleshy flowers, the lip entire or 3-lobed. The species is recognized by the branching stems, bilobed leaves and 3-lobed lip, the lateral lobes triangular-dolabriform. Epidendrum pastoense Schltr. lip .24 to .3" x .24 to .28" [6 to 7.5 x 6 to 7 mm], apical lobe transversely rhombic, .2" [5 mm] wide, cream-colored, brownish spotted outside, flowers turn reddish upon drying, and are also fragrant and are found on both sides of the Colombian Ecuadorian border on the Amazon side of the Andes and the interandean valley. Epidendrum suaveolens Ames has wider petals .28" [7 mm], suborbicular lateral lobes of the lip, and a longer column .4" [10 mm]; though also greenish-white and very odorous; it occurs on the Pacific side of the Colombian-Ecuadorian border and the interandean valley." Hagsater etal 2001

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; *Icones Orchidaceaum 4 Plate 430 Hagsater & Sanchez 2001 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 12 Plate 1205 Hagsater 2009 see recognition section;

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