Epidendrum erosum Ames & C.Schweinf. 1925 GROUP Andean SUBGROUP Soratae
Front View Close up In situ Jardin Colombia 1/2016
Photos by © Jay Pfahl
Photo by © Universidad de los Andes and the Chingaza Botanical Website
Photo by © Diego Calderon and his Colombia Birding Flickr Photo Website
Drawing by © Jimenez, Hágsater & E.Santiago and The AMO Herbario Website
and Again 
Common Name The Erose Epidendrum [refers to the irregular toothed margins of the petals]
Flower Size .8" [2 cm]
Found in Colombia and southern Ecuador in cloud forests at elevations of 2100 to 3550 meters as a medium to large and sometimes giant sized, cold growing epiphyte with a much branching towards the apex, cane-like, terete, thin, main stem longer, progressively shorter, branched stem carrying 11 on the main stem, branches 2 to 6, evenly distributed in the upper half, narrowly elliptic, acute, minutely dentate margins, dorsal keeled leaves that blooms in the winter and again in the late summer on a terminal, racemose, 1.6 to 2.4" [4 to 6 cm] long, laxly 6 to 16 flowered, terete, thin inflorescence with shorter than the ovary, lanceolate, acuminate floral bracts and carrying simultaneously opening flowers.
"Epidendrum erosum belongs to the GROUP Andean SUBGROUP Cernuum, characterized by the monopodial habit, cane-like stems with sub-apical branches which are considerably shorter than the main stems, coriaceous to sub-coriaceous leaves, and the fleshy flowers, the lip entire or 3-lobed. The species is recognized by the pale green flowers spotted blackish-purple on the lip and apex of the column, sepals .4 to .48" x .16 to .2" [10.0 to 12.6 x 4 to 5 mm], lateral sepals parallel but not imbricated, petals .36 to .46 x .08 to .12" [9.0 to 11.5 x 2 to 3 mm], spreading to reflexed, linear-oblanceolate with the base unguiculate, lip .192 to .24 x .2 to .24" [4.8-6 x 5-6 mm], totally united to the column, ovate-orbicular. Epidendrum sarcostalix Rchb.f. & Wrasz. has similarly colored flowers but the flowers are larger, the lateral sepals .6 to .72" x .24 to .28" [15 to 18 x 6 to 7 mm], parallel and slightly imbricated at the apex, the petals .56 to .64" x .14 to .16" [14 to 16 x 3.5 to 4.0 mm], reflexed and oblanceolate, and the lip .32 to .36 x .36 to .4" [8 to 9 x 9 to 10 mm], united to the basal 2/3 of the column, orbicular, sub-quadrate. Epidendrum sisnanense Hágsater & E.Santiago has yellowish brown flowers, the lip and column yellow, sepals .48 x .12" [12 x 3 mm], parallel without being imbricated, petals .44 x .04" [11 x 1 mm], linear-oblanceolate, and the lip .2 x .26" [5 x 6.5 mm], widely cordiform, the apex sub-acute. Epidendrum sumapacense Hágsater & E.Santiago has bright yellow or yellow-orange flowers, sepals .56 x .248" [14 x 6.2 mm], petals .548" x .184" [13.7 x 4.6 mm], partly spreading and narrowly obovate, and the lip .22 x .36" [5.5 x 8 mm], sub-reniform." Hagsater etal 2021
Synonyms Epidendrum holmnielsenii Hágsater & Dodson 2001
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Icones Orchidacearum 4 Plate 445 Hagsater & Sanchez 2001 as E holmnielsenii drawing good; Icones Orchidacearum 7 Plate 792 Hagsater & Sanchez 2004 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 9 Plate 933 Hagsater & Sanchez 2007 drawing fide for 1st photo; Icones Orchidacearum 9 Plate 992 Hagsater 2007 see recognition section; Orquideas, Tesoro de Colombia Vol 2 Ortiz & Uribe 2017 drawing/Photo fide; Icones Orchidacearum 16[1] Plate 1658 Hagsater & Sanchez 2018 See Recognition section; Orquideas de Farallones de Cali Galindo-Tarazona, Haelterman, Zuluaga Trochez and Sebastian Moreno 2020 photo fide; Icones Orchidacearum 18(2) Plate 1867 Hagsater & Jimenez 2021 LCDP/Photo fide
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
