Epidendrum dialychilum Hágsater & Dodson 1993 GROUP Alpicoloum SUBGROUP Dialychilum
Plant and Flowers in situ Ecuador
Photos by © Lourens Grobler
TYPE Drawing by © Jimenez, Hágsater & E.Santiago and The AMO Herbario Website
Common Name or Meaning The Separated Lip Epidendrum [refers to the lip which is completely free from the Column]
Flower Size .12" [3mm]
Found in Ecuador and Peru along the eastern slope of the Andes in airy, wet, tropical evergreen forests at elevations of 600 to 2000 meters as a small to just medium sized, warm to cool growing epiphyte with an erect, cane-like, terete stem carrying, 2 to 4, on the upper portion of the stem, narrowly lanceolate-elliptic, acute leaves that blooms in the winter on a terminal, arcuate, racemose, 12 to 18 simultaneously opening inflorescence carrying resupinate, apple green flowers.
"The arching inflorescence with 12 to 18 simultaneous flowers, lanceolate-elliptic lip completely free from the column, lanceolate sepals, linear, acute petals, and the very large stigmatic cavity, occupying nearly the whole ventral surface of the column, make this species unique. The entirely free lip of this species is the only exception known to us in what is otherwise a constant character in Epidendrum, i.e., the partial adnation of the lip and column, but all other floral parts are quite typical of the genus. The species belongs to the GROUP Alpicoloum SUBGROUP Dialychilum , in which the lip generally is united to the column and 3-lobed." Hagsater etal 1993
Since Hagsater wrote the above -- Epidendrum dialyrhombicum is a small-sized plant closely related to E dialychilum with narrow grass-like leaves up to 2.8 x .16" [7 x 0.4 cm]; the short, erect, compact inflorescence with deep green and white, globular and setaceous, nonresupinate flowers, the sepals .12 to .16" [3 to 4 mm] long, the lip free from the column, rhombic with a long, narrow claw perpendicular to the base of the lip and then turning up and parallel to it, the column with the rostellum projecting beyond the rest of the body. Epidendrum pterastele Hágsater & Dodson also has a free lip, but narrowly elliptic, and the column has a prominent clinandrium which gives it a winged appearance." Hagsater etal 2001
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Icones Orchidacearum 2 Plate 128 Hagsater 1993 drawing ok; Icones Orchidacearum 2 Plate 186 Hagsater 1993 see recognition section; Native Ecuadorian Orchids Vol 2 Dodson 2001 photo fide; Icones Orchidacearum 4 plate 419 Hagsater & Salazar 2001 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 4 plate 434 Hagsater & Salazar 2001 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 4 plate 475 Hagsater & Salazar 2001 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 4 plate 481 Hagsater & Salazar 2001 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum Peruviarum Plate 636 Bennett & Christenson 2001 as E dialychilum ssp peruvianum drawing ok; LANKESTERIANA 14(1) 2014 as E dialychilum ssp peruvianum; Orquideas, Tesoro de Colombia Vol 2 Ortiz & Uribe 2017 drawing/Photo fide;
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