Epidendrum alberti Schltr. 1923 GROUP Alberti SUBGROUP Alberti
Drawing by © Dodson and the The Swiss Orchid Foundation at the Jany Renz Herbaria Website
Drawing by © Jimenez, Hágsater & E.Santiago and The AMO Herbario Website
Common Name or Meaning Albert's Epidendrum [Mr Brenes, Costa Rican Botanist 1900's]
Flower Size .4" [10mm]
Found in Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia and Ecuador at elevations of 500 to 1600 meters as a small to medium sized, hot to warm growing terrestrial or rarely lithophyte on rocks over streams or an epiphyte in wet, primary, montane forests with a cane-like, simple, terete at the base, laterally compressed above, erect, straight stem enveloped completely by leaf-bearing sheaths and carrying numerous, distributed throughout the stem, alternate, articulate, erect-spreading, deciduous; sheaths tubular somewhat inflated at the apex, laterally compressed, ancipitose, striate, becoming fibrous with time; blade narrowly elliptic to ovate-elliptic, obtuse to subacute, margin entire, coriaceous, the dorsal surface intense reddish or purple leaves that blooms in the fall on a terminal and lateral, producing, new racemes over several years, peduncle of the apical inflorescence short, laterally compressed, ancipitose, provided with 1 to 2 prominent, spathaceous bracts at the apex of the pecuncle, peduncle of the lateral inflorescences short, totally hidden by several imbricating bracts, tubular below, rounded at the apex, rachis totally hidden by the floral bracts, successively single, 3 to 4 flowered inflorescence enveloped below by several, large, imbricate, shorter than the ovary, ovate-elliptic, conduplicate, obtuse, floral bracts and carrying resupinate, greenish tinged reddish, copper colored, rarely yellowish white flower with a lip that is usually white.
"Epidendrum albertii belongs to the GROUP Alberti which is characterized by the sympodial habit laterally compressed to ancipitose somewhat fusiform-thickened stems, the apical or apical and lateral racemose, distichous inflorescence more or less with imbricating bracts on the peduncle, and the conduplicate, imbricating floral bracts producing one flower at a time, and the SUBGROUP Alberti, which has apical and more commonly short, lateral inflorescences with several progressively longer, imbricating bracts covering the short peduncle; the flowers are membranaceous, delicate, generally successive, one developing at a time from each raceme. The species is recognized by its narrowly elliptic to ovate- elliptic leaves, dorsally tinged reddish or purple, the apical inflorescence with 1 to 2 prominent spathaceous bracts at the apex of the peduncle, short, rounded floral bracts, .48 to .58" [12 to 14.5 mm] long sepals, the flowers generally: tinged reddish, the white lip oblong-ovate, acute, with 12 radiating keels, and the column strongly arched at the apex. Epidendrum phyllocharis Rchb.f. is vegetatively very: similar but has white flowers, rarely pale green tinged with reddish, the lip pentagonal-semiorbicular with 5 radiating, keels, the apex truncate and minutely apiculate, and the column slightly arched. Epidendrum hexagonum Hágsater & Dodson has concolor, somewhat pale-green, elliptic-lanceolate leaves .52 to .72" [13 to 18 cm] long, and green colored flowers (same color as the leaves) with a hexagonal lip, devoid of any keels, and a straight column. Epidendrum ingramii Hágsater & Carcía-Cruz has acuminate floral bracts, .84 to 1" [21 to 25 mm] long sepals, and a narrowly cordiform, acuminate lip" Hagsater etal 2007.
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; *Repert. Sp. Nov. Regni. Veg. Beih. 19: 208. Costa Rica Schlechter 1923; The Genus Epidendrum Ames 1936; Ceiba Vol 5 No 1 L O Williams 1956; Die Orchideen 3 Auflage Bd 1 Sonderabdruck aus Schlechter Lieferung 9 513 - 576 Brieger, Maatsch and Senghas 1977 as Pleuranthium albertii photo ok; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum Plate 373 Dodson 1980 drawing fide; Native Ecuadorian Orchids Vol 2 Dodson 200 1 drawing good; Icones Orchidacearum 3 Plate 338 Hagsater & Sanchez 1999 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 4 Plate 433 Hagsater & Sanchez 2001 see recognition section; Native Ecuadorian Orchids Vol 2 Dodson 2001 drawing fide; Manual de las Plantas de Costa Rica Vol 3 Hammel, Grayum, Herrera and Zamora 2003; Icones Orchidacearum Vol 7 Plate 715 Hagsater & Sanchez 2004 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum Vol 7 Plate 724 Hagsater & Sanchez 2004 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum Vol 7 Plate 741 Hagsater & Sanchez 2004 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum Vol 8 Plate 824 Hagsater & Sanchez 2006 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum Vol 9 Plate 901 Hagsater & Sanchez 2007 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 9 Plate 903 Hagsater 2007 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum Vol 9 Plate 905 Hagsater & Sanchez 2007 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 9 Plate 973 Hagsater 2007 see recognition section; Orchids of Costa Rica Vol 3 Morales 2009 photo fide; Orquideas, Tesoro de Colombia Vol 2 Ortiz & Uribe 2017 drawing fide to Ortiz Drawing not;
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