Epidendrum exiguum Ames & C.Schweinf. 1930 GROUP Ramosum SUBGROUP Rugosum

Collection sheet and Drawing by © Ames

Common Name The Insignificant Epidendrum

Flower Size .4" [1 cm]

Found in Costa Rica and Panama in humid forests at elevations around 650 to 900 meters as a mini-miniature to minature sized, warm growing epiphtye with hanging, simple to shortly branched stems carrying 3 to 10, held in the apical half of the stem, ovate-elliptic, obtuse, retuse, strongly carinate leaves that blooms in the winter on any of the branches, terminal, racemose, distichous, peduncle much reduced, simultaneosuly 2 to 3 flowered inflorescence with the imbricate, clasping, longer than the ovary, widely ovate, obtuse floral bracts and carrying yellow green flowers.

Epidendrum exiguum is part of GROUP Ramosum SUBGROUP Rugosum characterized by the monopodial, branching stems, the spike-like, distichous inflorescence, and the single callus, and the SUBGROUP Rugosum which has a branching habit with few-flowered inflorescence from short, secondary stems, the leaf-sheaths rugose. The species is separated from others by the small, hanging plant with the apical half of the stem leafy, the strongly keeled leaves, the 2 to 3 flowered inflorescence with longer than the ovary floral bracts and yellow green flowers with a triangular lip and the ovary forming a vesicule just behind the perianth. E. exiguum Ames & C.Schweinf. which is found along the Atlantic slope in western Costa Rica at elevations of 650 to 900 meters and has small, pendent plants, leaves distributed throughout the stems, strongly carinate, shorter leaves, to .4" [1 cm] long, 2 to 3 flowers and acuminate lateral sepals. It is very similar to Epidendrum cornanthera F.Lehm. & Kraenzl. 1899 which has small, pendent plants, leaves distributed throughout the stems, strongly carinate, .4 to .8" [1 to 2 cm] long, the 2 to 6 flowered inflorescence, triangular lip and the ovary forming a vesicle behind the perianth, the column with a pair of incurved apical teeth, the anther two-horned and the sepals acute. Epidendrum repens Cogn. and E. brachyrepens Hágsater are also pendent, but the plants are much longer, the inflorescence single-flowered, the column does not have apica l teeth and the anther lacks the apical horns. Epidendrum luckei Bock has longer stems, pale green flowers, ovate-elliptic leaves, calli three dentate, the middle longer than the lateral teeth." Adapted from E coronanthera Icones Plate 923 Hagsater etal 2007

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; The Genus Epidendrum Ames 1936; Ceiba Vol 5 No 1 L O Williams 1956; Field Guide to the Orchids of Costa Rica and Panama Dressler 1993; Manual de las Plantas de Costa Rica Vol 3 Hammel, Grayum, Herrera and Zamora 2003; Icones Orchidacearum 9 Plate 923 Hagsater 2007 see recognition section;

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