Epidendrum eximium L.O. Williams 1941 GROUP Eximium Type for the group
Photos by © Jay Pfahl
Photo by © Noble Bashor.
Drawing Drawing by © Jimenez, Hágsater & E.Santiago and The AMO Herbario Website
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Common Name The Outstanding Epidendrum
Flower Size 1 1/2" [4cm]
Oaxaca Mx., 2377m elev., along road to Putla, epiphytic on oaks.
Found in Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador occuring in the evergreen cloud forests and damp pine/oak forests at altitudes of 2300 to 2800 meters as a small to medium sized, cold growing, reedstem epiphyte with leaves clustered towards the apex with erect stems enveloped by tubular, scarious sheaths and carrying elliptic, subcoriaceous, acute, basally clasping leaves clustered towards the apex that flowers on a terminal, racemose, 3/8" long, arcuate, few to several flowered inflorescence arising on a newly maturing cane with successive opening, nocturnally, foul-smelling flowers that appear from winter through spring.
"Epidendrum eximium is the typ of GROUP Eximium characterized by the relatively short plants to 16" [40 cm] tall, the sympodial, non-branching, few leafed stems that blooms on an apical, generally racemose inflorescence that is short, shorter than the apical leaf and carrying bell shaped, showy, greenish yellow to green with brown or purple tinted flowers with an entire lip, and very small calli. The species has caespitose plants 8 to 20" [20 to 50 cm] high, with 3 to 5 elliptic leaves which generally are .8 to 1.2" [2 to 3 cm] wide, the short, arcuate raceme with large yellow to greenish flowers, usually with the basal half of the segments and the column flushed with burgundy red, the segments .6 to 1.04" [15 to 26 mm] long and the lip cordiform to suborbicular, permit a rapid identification. Its closest relative seems to be E. sobraloides from Guatemala, and recently discovered also in Chiapas, but the obovate lip and the narrow leaves of the latter are very distinctive." Hagsater etal 1990
Synonyms Epidendrum amesianum Correll 1947; Epidendrum eximium var. amesianum (Correll) C.Schweinf. 1955
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; AOS Bulletin Vol 28 No 8 1959; AOS Bulletin Vol 31 No 7 1962 photo fide; Las Orquedias De El Salvador Vol 1 Hamer 1974 drawing/photo fide; Las Orquedias de El Salvador Vol 3 Hamer 1981 drawing fide; Selbyana Vol 10 Orchids of Central America Hamer 1988 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum I Plate 30 Hagsater and Salazar 1990 drawing fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 61 No 6/590 1992 photo; Guatemala Y Sus Orquideas Behar & Tinschert 1998 photo fide; Orquideas del Estado de Morelos ORQUÍDEA (MÉX.) VOLUMEN 16 NÚMERO ÚNICO enero 2002 drawing/photo fide; Orchids of Mexico Hagsater, Soto, Salazar, Jimenez, Lopez and Dressler 2005 photo fide; Icones Orchidacearum Vol 11 Plate 1179 Hagsater & Sanchez 2008 see recognition section; Guia de Orquideas de Chiapas Carlos Rommel Beutelspacher Baigts 2013 photo fide; Orchid Genera and Species in Guatemala Archila, Szlachchetko, Chiron, Lipinska, Mystkowska and Bertolini 2018 photo fide
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