Epidendrum dendrobii Rchb.f. 1850 GROUP Pleuranthium SUBGROUP Dendrobii

Photo © by Gary Yong Gee and The Yongee Name Orchid Website

Drawing

Drawing © by Dunsterville & Garay

What has been known as E piletaum

Drawing © by Bennett & Christenson and The Swiss Orchid Foundation at the Jany Renz Herbaria Website

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Common Name or Meaning The Dendrobium-Like Epidendrum

Flower Size .8" [2 cm]

Found in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia on steep banks in cloud forests at elevations around 1750 to 2600 meters as a giant sized, cool to cold growing terrestrial with slender, erect, stout, terete, leafy throughout stems carrying numerous, distichous, distributed all along the stem, lanceolate, acute apically leaves that blooms in the late spring and early summer on few to several, lateral and some distance below the apex, rather dense, short, to .6" [1.5 cm] long, racemose, to 6 to 8 flowered inflorescence concealed basally by a number of soft, imbricating sheaths.

Epidendrum dendrobii Rchb.f. belongs to the GROUP Pleuranthium , characterized by the caespitose habit, canelike and elongate stems, several short, lateral inflorescences, and the SUBGROUP Dendrobii which has several flowers per raceme, and a short or reduced clinandrium-hood. The species is characterized by the smaller flowers than the next few species, and shorter inflorescences and ovaries, a reniform, emarginate lip and oblanceolate petals with the apex rounded. Epidendrum dendromacroophorum has long lateral inflorescences with 4 to 6 flowers helicoidally disposed along the rachis, the very long ovary, 1 to 1.68" [2.5 to 4.2 cm] long, cymbiform floral bracts, and the cordiform, apiculate lip. Epidendrum dendroaggregatum Hágsater & E.Santiago (=Epidendrum aggregatum Lindl., non Roxb. ex Steud.) has sub-sessile inflorescences with small flowers, sepals ca. .28 to .32" [7 to 8 mm] long, and a .24" [6 mm] long ovary. Epidendrum phragmidoides Hágsater (which grows sympatrically in the type locality) has much shorter stems, sub-sessile, single flowered inflorescences, a short .24" [6 mm] ovary thickened along the apical half, tubular, imbricating floral bracts and the lip is somewhat 3-lobed, the base truncate, the clinandrium-hood semi-tubular, much longer than the body of the column." Hagsater etal 2013

Synonyms Epidendrum pileatum Rchb.f. 1855

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 6: 69 1919; Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 6: 71 Schlechter 1919 as E pileatum; Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 7: 250 Schlechter 1920 as E pileatum; Venezuelan Orchids Illustrated Vol 5 Dunsterville & Garay 1972 drawing fide; Flora de Venezuela Vol XV Tercera Parte Foldats 1970 drawing fide; Orchids of Venezuela, an Illustrated Field Guide Vol 1 Dunsterville & Garay 1979 drawing fide; Icones Plantarum Tropicarum Plate 333 Dodson & Vasquez 1989 as E pileatum drawing good; Orchids of Venezuela [An illustrated field guide] Vol. 1 Ramiro and Carnevali 2000 drawing fide; Orquideas Nativas del Tachira Fernandez 2003 photo fide; Orchids of Bolivia Vol II Laelinae Vasquez & Ibisch 2004 as E pileatum drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 8 Plate 813 Hagsater and Sanchez 2006 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 8 Plate 812 Hagsater and Sanchez 2006 as E pileatum see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 14 plate 1422 Hagsater E.Santiago & O.Pérez 2013 see recognition section; Orquideas, Tesoro de Colombia Vol 2 Ortiz & Uribe 2017 Drawing/Photo Good; Orquideas, Tesoro de Colombia Vol 2 Ortiz & Uribe 2017 drawing/photo good;

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