Epidendrum curtisii A.D.Hawkes 1957 GROUP Arbuscula SUBGROUP Incomptum
Photos by © Guy Van der Kinderen
Drawing by © Jimenez, Hágsater & E.Santiago and The AMO Herbario Website
EARLY
Common Name or Meaning Curtis' Epidendrum [Editor of the Orchid Review late 1800's 1900's]
Flower Size .8" [2 cm]
Found in northern Venezuela in the surrounding forests of Caracas at elevations of 1800 to 2200 meters as a small sized, cool to cold growing epiphyte with a branching, arising from the subapical node of the previous stem carrying 2 to 3, towards the apex, elliptic-oblong, acute leaves that blooms in the summer and early fall on a terminal, arching, racemose, laterally compressed, corymbose, .8 to 2" [2 to 5 cm] long, 2-12 green flowered inflorescence arising on a mature stem with triangular, acuminate, shorter than the ovary floral bracts and carrying simultaneously opening flowers.
"Epidendrum curtisii belongs to the GROUP Arbuscula SUBGROUP Incomptum which is characterized by the successive lateral growths, few leaves aggregated towards the apex of the stems, archrng, apical inflorescence with fleshy green to black flowers, the lip bicallose entire to 3-lobed. The species is recognized by the simultaneous flowers with a thin ovary (not having a prominent ventral nectary which inflates the ovary), the 3-1obed, bicallose lip, the midlobe emarginated, sepals .32 to .48" [8 to 12 mm] long, and the oblanceolate, 3-veined petals. Epidendrum homoion Hagsater & Dodson is very similar in shape but has much larger flowers, the sepals being .52 to .6" [13 to 15 mm] long, the lip 1.04 to 1.12" [26 to 28 mm] wide, and the petals are much wider, .24 to .26" [6.0 to 6.5 mm]. Epidendrum incomptum Rchb.f. has larger flowers with sepals .52 to .64" [13 to 16 mm] long, narrower, l-veined petals, and an ecallose lip, the lateral lobes rounded but not orbicular. Epidendrum carchiense Hágsater & Dodson and E. yambalense Hágsater & Dodson have the midlobe of the lip apiculate. Both E. envigadoense Hágsater and E. amayense Hágsater have a bilobed, emarginate midlobe, formed by a pair of semicircular lobes." Hagsater etal 2007
Synonyms Epidendrum lansbergii Rchb.f. 1859
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Venezuelan Orchids Illustrated Vol 1 Dunsterville & Garay 1959 as E superpositum drawing fide; Flora de Venezuela, Volumen XV Tercera Parte Foldats 1970; Venezuelan Orchids Illustrated Vol 6 Dunsterville & Garay 1976; Orchids of Venezuela, An Illustrated Field Guide Dunsterville, G.C.K. & Garay, L.A., 1979 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum Epidendrum Part 2 Plate 145 Hagsater 1993 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 3 Plate 30 Hagsater 1999 see recogntion section; Icones Orchidacearum 3 Plate 330 Hagsater & Sanchez 1999 see recognition section;Orchids of Venezuela [An illustrated field guide] Vol. 1 Ramiro and Carnevali 2000 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 7 Plate 710 Hagsater and Sanchez 2004 see recognition section; Orquideas de la Serrania del Baudo Misas Urreta 2005 drawing/photo fide; Icones Orchidacearum 9 Plate 927 Hagsater 2007 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 9 Plate 949 Hagsater 2007 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 12 Plate 1210 Hagsater 2009 see recognition section ;Orquideas, Tesoro de Colombia Vol 2 Ortiz & Uribe 2017; Icones Orchidacearum 16[2] Plate 1675 Hagsater & Sanchez 2018 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 18(1) plate 1830 Hagsater, Pfahl & Cisneros 2020 see recognition section
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