Epidendrum porphyreum Lindl. 1841 GROUP Pseudepidendrum SUBGROUP Porphyreum
Photo by © Lourens Grobler.
Drawing by © Jimenez, Hágsater & E.Santiago and The AMO Herbario Website
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Common Name The Purple Epidendrum
Flower Size .4" [1 cm]
Found in Colombia and Ecuador in very wet montane forests at elevations of 1800 to 3900 meters as a medium to large sized, cool to cold growing epiphyte or terrestrial on steep embankments with slender cane-like stems enveloped by distichous, foliaceous sheaths carrying coriaceous, thin, linear, acute, basally clasping leaves that bloom in the spring and fall on a terminal, arching, branched, to 5" [12.5 cm] long, racemose inflorescence with pendulous flowers.
Very similar to E hypoporphyreum but it is easily distinguished by the purple undersides to the leaves, E porphyreum has concolor green leaves and to E laeve [syn E ionodesme], but it has the lateral lobes of the lip dolabriform-trapezoid, the width of the lip equal in width between the lateral lobes and the mid-lobe, the mid-lobe is deeply emarginate at the apex and forms a pair of linear-oblong, divergent lobes, the column is short, 8 to 9 mm long.
"Epidendrum porphyreum belongs to the GROUP Pseudepidendrum is characterized by caespitose plants, canelike stems, acute to acuminate leaves, apical inflorescence, lacking a spathaceous bract, the petals filiform and the lip usually 3-lobed, with 3 parallel fleshy keels, the apical lobe often bifurcate, and the pollinia “bird-wing” type and SUBGROUP Porphyreum which has flowers colored reddish orange, deep purple or lilac-pink, the calli generally prominent, sometimes horn-like. The species is recognized by the robust plants, narrowly elliptic leaves 3.2 to 7" x .6 to 1.6" [8 to 17.5 x 1.5 to 4 cm], purple-colored flowers the disc white; partly spreading sepals 13-15 x 5-6.5 mm; the lateral lobes of the lip ovatedolabriform, and the mid-lobe sub-deltate, widely emarginate, forming a pair of triangular, obtuse lobes; column 10 mm long. Epidendrum laeve Lind. has similarly colored flowers but smaller, the sepals .4 to .44" [10 to 11 mm] long, the lateral lobes of the lip are slightly falcate, and the mid-lobe deeply emarginate. Epidendrum spathatum Schltr. has red-orange flowers, the disc of the lip yellowish, sepals .4 tro .48" x .08 to .16" [10 to 12 x 2 to 4 mm]; the mid-lobe of the lip sub-entire, with the lateral lobes slightly bilobed, and the mid-lobe very short; the calli are horn-like and apically involute. Epidendrum atacazoicum Schltr. has a characteristic pyramidal, compact inflorescence, flowers pink-lilac, the lip lighter, smaller flowers, sepals .34 to .44" 8.5 to 11] mm] long, the width of the lip is the same between the lateral lobes as the between the bifurcate mid-lobe, the lateral lobes are obliquely ovate, the mid-lobe deeply emarginate, forming a pair of linear-oblong, apically rounded lobes." Hagsater etal 2010
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 7: 250 Schlechter 1920; The Genus Epidendrum Ames 1936; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum plate 426 Dodson 1982 see Observations; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum plate 431 Dodson 1982 drawing fide; Orchids Travel By Air A Pictoral Safari Mulder, Mulder-Roelfsema and Schuiteman 1990 photo fide; The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Orchids Pridgeon 1992 photo fide; Manual Of Orchids Stewart 1995; Icones Orchidacearum 4 plate 416 Hagsater & Salazar 2001 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 4 plate 463 Hagsater & Salazar 2001 see recognition section; Native Ecuadorian Orchids Vol 2 Dodson 2001 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 75 #4 2006 photo fide; Icones Orchidacearum Part 12 Plate 1293 Hagsater 2009 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 13 Plate 1304 Hagsater 2010 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 13 Plate 1305 Hagsater 2010 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 13 Plate 1320 Hagsater 2010 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 13 Plate 1328 Hagsater 2010 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 13 Plate 1344 Hagsater & Dodson 2010 See Recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum Part 13 Plate 1369 Hagsater 2010 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum Part 13 Plate 1377 Hagsater 2010 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 13 Plate 1388 2010see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 14 Plate 1441 Hagsater & Santiago 2013 See recognition section; Orquideas, Tesoro de Colombia Vol 2 Ortiz & Uribe 2017 drawing/photo fide; Icones Orchidacearum 16[1] Plate 1610 Hagsater & Santiago 2018 See recognition section;
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