Epidendrum porpax Rchb.f. 1855 GROUP Porpax
Photo by © Wilfried Löderbusch the Universidad Veracruzana Website
Drawing by © Jimenez, Hágsater & E.Santiago and The AMO Herbario Website
LATE 
THROUGH 
Common Name The Shield Epidendrum
Flower Size .6" [1.5 cm]
Found in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Brazil in wet montane and cloud forests at elevations of 400 to 1800 meters as a mini-miniature sized, hot to cool growing, mat-forming epiphyte with simple, cane-like , laterally compressed, somewhat reclining stems carrying 4 to 13, all along the stem, disitchous, spreading, slightly arching, narrowly ovate-lanceolate, sometimes conduplicate, subacute, margin minutely ciliate at the apex, articulate below into the base leaves that blooms in the late spring through winter on a terminal, sessile, single flowered inflorescence arising through a hemi-elliptic, ovate-lanceolate, rounded and slightly oblique apically spathaceous bracts and carrying, fragrant, resupinate, fleshy flowers.
Hagsater has separated E porpax and E peperomia and states that the differences are that E peperomia has an orbicular-cordiform lip that is wider than long, has an obtuse apex and is known only from Colombia and Venezuela while E porpax has a reniform to sub-orbicular-subquadrate, slightly convex, apically rounded, shortly emarginate and erose dentate lip and comes from all of the countries listed.
"Epidendrum porpax belongs to the GROUP Porpax, which is characterized by the sympodial, somewhat repent habit, usually forming large mats, short, cane-like stems with very fleshy, succulent, articulate, distichous leaves, the apical margin minutely ciliate, single flowered inflorescence, sessile flowers, and the lip generally reddish purple. The species is recognized by the small plants with somewhat reclining stems, the green flowers with a lustrous, convex, reddish purple lip proportionately wider than long, the apex rounded, the .34 to .52" [8.5-14 mm] long lateral sepals obliquely adnate to the column, and the linear petals, with the margin crenate-denticulate. It has been often confused with E peperomia Rchb.f. which is vegetatively similar but the lip of that species is orbicular-cordiform, spreading, as wide as it is long, with the apex obtuse; and known from Venezuela and Colombia. Epidendrum lambeauanum De Wild. has larger, erect, plants, the stems with 4 to 6 lanceolate leaves .68 to 1.52" [17 to 38 mm] long, the flowers are cream-colored with the lip reddish purple, and the petals linear-oblanceolate. Epidendrum mathewsii Rchb.f. from Colombia, Ecuador and Peru has small, compact plants with erect stems, an orbicular-sub-quadrate lip with the apex obtuse, and linear, acute petals. The flowers of all these species are very similar, and thus best recognized by the vegetative habit." Hagsater etal 2010
Synonyms Epidendrum porphyrophyllum Schlechter 1922; Nanodes porpax (Rchb. f.) Brieger 1960; Nanodes porpax (Rchb. f.) Brieger & Lückel 1978; Neolehmannia porpax [Rchb.f] Garay & Dunsterville 1976
References The Orchids of Panama L.O. Williams & P Allen 1946; Ceiba Vol 5 No 1 L O Williams 1956; Venezuelan Orchids Illustrated Vol 1 Dunsterville & Garay 1959 drawing fide; Die Orchideen tafel 9 511- 579 Rudolph Schlechter 1971 photo not = E peperomia; Orchidaceae Brasilense Band 1 Pabst & Dungs 1975 not = E perperomia drawing fide; The Manual Of Cultivated Orchid Species Bechtel, Cribb & Launert 1992 photo fide; The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Orchids Pridgeon 1992 photo fide; Orchids of Venezuela [An illustrated field guide] Vol. 1 Ramiro and Carnevali 2000 drawing fide; Rudolf Schlechter Die Orchideen Lieferung 42/3 2001 as Neolehmannia porpax; OPrchids of Bolivia Vol II Laelinae Vasquez & Ibisch 2004 photo fide; Vanishing Beauty, Native Costa Rican Orchids Vol 1 Pupulin 2005 photo fide; Flora's Orchids Nash & La Croix 2005 photo fide; Icones Orchidacearum 11 Plate 1128 Hagsater 2008 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 13 Plate 1375 Hagsater & Sanchez 2010 drawing fide; Guia de Orquideas de Chiapas Carlos Rommel Beutelspacher Baigts 2013 photo fide; Algunas Orquideas de Mexico Tomo 1 Suarez 2013 photo fide; Icones Orchidacearum 14 Plate 1403 Hagsater & Santiago 2013 See recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 16[1] Plate 1615 Hagsater & Santiago 2018 See Recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 16[1] Plate 1633 Hagsater & Santiago 2018 See recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 16[1] Plate 1640 Hagsater & Sanchez 2018 drawing/photo fide; Icones Orchidacearum 16[1] Plate 1643 Hagsater & Sanchez 2018 see recognition section; Orchid Genera and Species in Guatemala Archila, Szlachchetko, Chiron, Lipinska, Mystkowska and Bertolini 2018; AOS Bulletin Vol 88 #11 2019 photo fide;
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