IOSPE PHOTOS

Epidendrum dolichorhachis Hágsater & Dodson 2004 GROUP Diothonea SUBGROUP Diothonea

Photo by Š Eric Hagsater/TYPE Drawing by Š Jimenez, Hágsater & E.Santiago and The AMO Herbario Website

Common Name The Elongate Rachis Epidendrum

Flower Size .75" [1.8 cm]

Found in Ecuador in upper wet montane forests at elevations of 1400 to 3550 meters as a medium to large sized, cool to cold growing epiphyte with a branching, erect, cane-like, terete stem producing new stems from the apical third of the previous stem, each stem progresssively shorter and carrying 6 to 13 leaves on the apical half of each stem, subcoriaceous, narrowly lanceolate, bilobed apically, low dorsal keeled, margin entire leaves that blooms at most any time of the year on a terminal, racemose, arching-nutant, occuring only once, 2.6 to 5" [6.5 to 12.5 cm] long including the short peduncle, many flowered inflorescence with shorter than the ovary, triangular, acuminate floral bracts and carrying 18 to 30, simultaenously opening, resupinate, membraneous, rarely fleshy, non-fragrant flowers.

"Epidendrum dolichorhachis belongs to the GROUP Diothonea SUBGROUP Diothonea which is characterized by the branching plants, linear lanceolate to oblong, bilobed leaves, racemose, arching-nutant inflorescence, membranaceous rarely fleshy flowers, the entire to 3-lobed, ecallose lip with the margin erose with or without 1 to 10 thin, smooth to erose keels, the column completely to obliquely united to the lip, and the anther reniform. The new species is distinguished by the elongate rachis of the inflorescence, the oblong-lanceolate petals arched upwards, the lip united to the column, with 5 erose-dentate keels, the central keels reach the center of the lip and the lateral keels much shorter, the thick column is dorsally sigmoid, with the apex arched upwards. It is similar to Epidendrum heterothoneum which has shorter branches, the rachis of the inflorescence compact, .8 to 1.2" [2 to 3 cm] long, with up to 10 flowers, these larger, the sepals .6 to .64" [15 to 16 mm] long and the petals linear, .6" [1.5 mm] wide. Epidendrum suavis (Rchb. f. & Warsc.) Loejtnant has a similar vegetative architecture, fewer flowers on the inflorescence, the flowers larger, petals obtrullate, the lip obliquely united to the column which is .32" [8 mm] long, the lip entire, ovate or subovate." Hagsater etal 2004

Synonyms

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