Epidendrum mininocturnum Dodson 1977 GROUP Nocturnum

TYPE Drawing by © Dodson

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Common Name The Small Epidendrum nocturnum-Like Epidendrum

Flower Size 1.4" [3.5 cm]

Found in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia in beach vegetation, primary lowland forests, wet montane and cloud forests at elevations of sealevel to 1300 meters as a miniature sized, hot to cool growing epiphyte with an erect, slightly fractiflex, terete stem enveloped by a few tubular, scarious sheaths and carrying 3 to 7, linear-lanceolate, acute, basally clasping leaves held in the upper half, that blooms in the fall on a short, successively 1 to 5 flowered inflorescence arising on a mature pseudobulb.

"Epidendrum micronocturnum belongs to the GROUP Nocturnum which is characterized by the sympodial, caespitose plants, short, racemose or pluri-racemose inflorescence, without spathaceous bracts, usually large, star-shaped flowers, with similar sepals and petals, and the SUBGROUP Nocturnum which has cane-like stems, non-thickened towards the middle, and usually successive flowers; the flowers are mostly indistinguishable in shape. The species can be recognized by the short plants 4.8 to 6" [12 to 15 cm] with laterally compressed stems, 4 to 5 narrow leaves .32 to .8" [8 to 20 mm] wide, sepals 1.08 to 1.12" [27 to 28 mm] long, ovary 1.08 to 1.2" [27 to 30 mm] long, the lateral lobes of the lip with multiple thickened veins, margin entire. It is similar to Epidendrum campyloglossum P.Ortiz & Hágsater which is endemic to the lower Pacific slope of Colombia, has taller plants, 8" [20 cm], larger flowers with sepals .14" [35 mm], longer ovary 2" [50 mm], and the linear midlobe of the lip recurved in natural position, sepals and petals creamy yellow and the column entirely white. It has been confused with Epidendrum litense Hágsater & Dodson which grows at higher altitudes, 650 to 1900 meters, along the Pacific slope of Colombia and northern Ecuador with taller plants to 11.2" [28 cm], narrower leaves .24 to .36" [0.6 to 0.9 cm], larger flowers with sepals 1.12 to 1.4" [28 to 35 mm], a 1.04 to 1.46" [26 to 36 mm] long ovary, and the lip without keels nor thickened veins, the midlobe longer .48 to .84" [17 to 21 mm] long. Epidendrum micronocturnum Carnevali & G.Romero is found in the Amazon Basin, has shorter stems 1.6 to 2.4" [4 to 6 cm] tall, narrower leaves .16 to .2" [4 to 5 mm] wide, smaller flowers, sepals .6 to .8" [15 to 20 mm} long, ovary .96 to 1.04" [24 to 26 mm] long, the lateral lobes of the lip narrowly elliptic, falcate, without thickened veins, and the outer margin irregularly erose.{ Hagsater etal 2010

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Selbyana 2:53 Dodson 1977 drawing fide; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum plate 089 Dodson 1980 drawing fide; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum plate 428 Dodson 1982 see observation section; Orchids of Bolivia Vol 2 Laelinae Vasquez and Ibisch 2004photo fide; ; Orquideas de la Serrania del Baudo Misas Urreta 2005 drawing/photo not = E rocalderianum; Orchid Digest Vol 73 #3 2009; Icones Orchidacearum 13 Plate 1350 Hagsater 2010 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 13 Plate 1356 Hagsater 2010 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 13 Plate 1357 Hagsater 2010 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 13 Plate 1358 Hagsater 2010 see recognition section; Orchids of the Department of Valle De Cauca Colombia Vol 2 Kolanowska, Hagsater etal. 2014 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 15 [2] Plate 1589 Hagsater & Sanchez 2016 see recognition section; Orquideas, Tesoro de Colombia Vol 2 Ortiz & Uribe 2017 drawing/photo fide; Icones Orchidacearum 16(2) Plate 1695 Hagsater & Jimenez 2018 see recognition section

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