Epidendrum dilochioides L.O.Williams 1940 GROUP Polychlamys SUBGROUP Polychlamys

Drawing by © L. O. Williams & R. Jiménez M.and Icones Orchidacearum 18(2) Plate 1865 Hagsater & Jimenez 2021 and the AMO Herbaria Website

LATE EARLY

Common Name The Dilochia Like Bracted Epidendrum [refers to the similarity of the bracts to the genus Dilochia]

Flower Size .6" [1.5 cm]

Found in Honduras on the Pacific coast as a small sized, hot growing epiphyte with simple, cane-like, the basal part rhizomatous, short, the new growth produced from a lower mid-node of the previous stem, sub-erect, terete below, laterally compressed above, totally covered by tubular, slightly inflated at the apex, scarious and becoming fibrous with time, non-foliaceous sheaths and carrying 3, aggregate towards the apex of the stem, alternate, articulate, with a tubular, laterally compressed, slightly dilated at the apex leaf sheath bases, blade elliptic to elliptic lanceolate, coriaceous, obtuse, with a minute dorsal keel, margin entire, spreading leaves that blooms in the late fall and early winter on a terminal, lacking a spathe, arching, nutant, simple, distichous, flowering only once, peduncle .8" [2 cm] long, totally hidden within 1 to 2, basally tubular, glumaceous, conduplicate, acute, imbricate bracts , rachis 1.6 to 2" [4 to 5 cm] long, thin, terete, zigzag, nearly totally enveloped by the floral bracts, simultaneously 8 flowered inflorescence with progressively smaller above, nealy as long as the flower, ovate, glumaceous, conduplicate,, acute floral bracts and carrying resupinate,, somewhat trumpet shaped flowers without color or fragrance data.

"Epidendrum dilochioides belongs to the GROUP Polychlamys SUBGROUP Polychlamys , which is characterized by the successive lateral growths, and the distichous, apical inflorescence with prominent, conduplicate, acute, glumaceous floral bracts. The species is recognized by the leaves .6 to 1.12" [15 to 28 mm] wide, the somewhat long inflorescence, the sepals .44" [11 mm] long, the spatulate petals slightly wider than the sepals, and the obovate lip, apically somewhat emarginate and mucronate. Epidendrum cryptanthum L.O.Williams also has a short, compact inflorescence but the inflorescence is paniculate, composed of 1 to 3 distichous branches (a feature which is not evident from the compact inflorescence, especially in pressed specimens), and the flowers are totally hidden within the imbricating glumaceous bracts, the sepals free, .36 to .46" [9.0 to 11.5 mm] long, the petals spatulate, rounded .12 to .16" [3 to 4 mm] wide, and the lip obovate-pandurate with the lateral margins involute, and the thin ovary, not inflated. Epidendrum salpichlamys Hágsater & E.Santiago has narrower leaves less than .68" [17 mm] wide, a simple, sessile, compact, distichous inflorescence, imbricating floral bracts, trumpet-shaped, greenish yellow flowers with the sepals basally connate and abruptly reflexed above the middle, an oblong lip, and a thin non-inflated ovary." Hagsater etal 2021

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Icones Orchidacearum 18(2) Plate 1865 Hagsater & Jimenez 2021 drawing/photo fide

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