Epidendrum forcipatoides Hágsater 2001 GROUP Anceps SUBGROUP Polyanthum

Drawing by © Jimenez and The AMO Herbaria Website

EARLIER EARLY

Common Name The Close to E Forcipatum Epidendrum

Flower Size .5" [1.25 cm]

Found in Bahia and Minas Gerais states of Brazil on the eastern edge of the planalto and coastal forests as a small to medium sized epiphyte with ancipitose stems carrying 6 to 14, are all along the stem, elliptic, rounded to shortly apiculate, prominently keeled, deep green to purple, generally twice as long as wide leaves that blooms in the spring, summer and early fall on a terminal, erect, pluri-racemose, pluriannual, peduncle elongate, ancipitous, short, simultaenosuly 3 to 6 flowered inflorescence with much shorter than the ovary, triangular, acute floral bracts and carrying non fragrant flowers that have the tepals pale greenish ochre brown, the lip is cream colored and the column is basally green with a cream colored apex.

"Epidendrum forcipatoides belongs to the GROUP Anceps SUBGROUP Polyanthum , recognized by the numerous short racemes produced on a elongate peduncle over several years, with small fleshy flowers; the species is recognized by the ancipitose stems, the purple leaves with a plain, non-undulate margin, pale greenish ochre-brown and cream-colored flowers, few to a raceme, simultaneous; the lip has two elongate calli prolonged into keels and a central keel reaching the emarginate apex of the rectangular midlobe. Epidendrum forcipatum C. Schweinf. has larger flowers with sepals .4 to .44" [10 to 11 mm] long, prominently crisped-undulate leaves, and acute petals; it is known from the upper Amazon basin in Peru. E. polyanthum has a more elongate raceme, with the midlobe of the lip also subrectangular, but the plants and flowers are much larger, green, the flowers orange, and the inflorescence, after the first flowering, produces numerous racemes from the many nodes of the peduncle. It is somewhat similar to E. anceps, which has purplish brown flowers and 3-lobed lip without calli, the raceme subcorymbose. Epidendrum galeottianum A. Richard & Galeotti from Mexico and northern Central America has purple leaves and flowers greenish brown with a dark purple, 3-lobed, ecallose lip." Hagsater etal 2001

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Icones Orchidacearum 4 Plate 437 Hagsater 2001 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 12 Plate 1243 Hagsater 2009 see recognition section;

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