Epidendrum excelsum C.Schweinf. 1970 GROUP Rupestre

Drawing by M Lopez R and The AMO Herbaria Website

EARLY

Common Name The Lofty Epidendrum [refers to the high elevation that this species grows at]

Flower Size 1.2" [3 cm]

Found in Peru on the Cordillera Occidental and Oriental at elevations of 3100 to 3750 meters as a mini-miniature to small sized, cold growing epiphyte with thickened, forming a homoblastic pseudobulb, terete, fusiform, green, minutely rugose stem carrying 1 to 2, apical, narrowly oblong to linear-lanceolate, acute to acuminate, grass-like, margin entire leaves that blooms in the fall on a terminal, racemose, occuring only once, erect, peduncle 2 to 4" [5 to 10 cm] long, terete, with a single bract below the rachis, rachis to [17 cm] long, loosely, simultaneously 10 to 16 flowered inflorescence with about as long as the ovary, triangular-lanceolate, acuminate, embracing floral bracts and carrying resupinate, yellow to grayish yellow flowers.

"Epidendrum excelsum belongs to the GROUP Rupestre , which is characterized by caespitose, sympodial plants, pseudobulbous stems with 1 to 4 fully developed leaves toward the apex, and lack of spathes at the base of an erect, racemose or paniculate inflorescence, the lip ecallose or bicallose and with several fleshy thickened keels on the disc. The species is characterized by the small, erect plants, narrow, grass-like leaves, an entire lip, with the margin deeply erose-dentate, two calli at the base which are large but not upright, and the disc somewhat thickened into 5 to 7 very low ribs. Epidendrum ochoae Collantes & Hágsater has a pendulous, sympodial habit, the stem with a homoblastic pseudobulb, terete, constituted by 3 internodes, green, smooth, brilliant, the leaves lanceolate to long-lanceolate, mucronate, leathery, sepals oblique, united to the column, the lip deeply 3-lobed, with 2 prominent, upright calli, and with 3 prominent thickened ribs, the lateral ones in front of the calli, smaller than the mid-rib. Epidendrum pachydiscum Hágsater, described from Cusco Province, is overall very similar, though it has erect stems, the lip is ecallose, and the lateral lobes of the lip are much wider. Epidendrum megalocoleum Hágsater the entire lip, deeply emarginate and mucronate, ecallose, the disc with 3 well defined, central keels, the lateral pair ending at about ¾ the length of the lip, the central keel staring at the middle of the lip and ending in the fleshy mucro." Hagsater etal 2015

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; *Fieldiana Biology, Vol 33, 1st Supple. to the Orchids of Peru Schweinfurth 1970; Icones Orchidacearum 9 Plate 956 Hagsater 2007 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 15 [1] Plate 1525 Hagsater 2015 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 15 [1] Plate 1546 Hagsater & Sanchez 2015 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 15 [2] Plate 1570 Hagsater & Sanchez 2016 see recognition section;

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