Epidendrum francisci Chocce, Hágsater & M.E.Acuña 2009 GROUP Albomarginatum

TYPE Drawing by © M E Acuna and The AMO Herbaria Website

Part Shade Cold LATE Winter EARLY Spring

Common Name Francisco's Epidendrum [Peruvian Conservationist 1900's]]

Flower Size .5" [1.25 cm]

Found in northern Amazonas province of Peru amongst shrubs at elevations around 2720 meters as a large sized, cold growing monopodial epiphyte with thin, cane-like in the basal 2/3's of the stem, slightly thickening to fusiform above, new stems produced form the internode below the apical 1/3 of the previous stem enveloped basally by 8 tubular, scarious sheaths and carrying 2, apical, articulate, coriaceous, linear-oblong, conduplicate basally, obtuse apically, apiculate, margin apically minutely papillose leaves that blooms in the late winter and early spring on a terminal, arising on a mature stem, paniculate, peduncle short, terete, thin, rachis fractiflex, laxly, asynchronously, successively 7 to 15 flowered inflorescence with much shorter than the ovary, triangular, acute, amplexicaul floral bracts and carrying resupinate, somewhat fleshy, pale lilac flowers with the basal half of the column greenish and the apex darler lilac.

"Epidendrum francisci is part of the GROUP Albomarginatum characterized by the monopodial, verticle, scandent, zigzag habit, cane-like below stems, somewhat thickened along the apical middle-half or third to form a fusiform pseuedobulb, the new stem originating just below the thickened part of the previous stem, apically bifoliate. The leaves are linear-lanceolate to linear-oblong in shape.and is recognized by the vertically scandent herb, with the new stem produced from an internode about 2/3 from the base of the previous stem, the new stem thickened and somewhat fusiform along the apical 1/3, apically bifoliate, the leaves linear-oblong, the apical inflorescence paniculate, rachis fractiflex, producing successive pale-lilac flowers, the lip united to the column, cordiform, with two very small calli at the base, and the nectary inflated to form a vesicle behind the base of the lateral sepals. The plant is reminiscent of Epidendrum subliberum C.Schweinf., but the inflorescence of that species is straight and has numerous, simultaneous small flowers, sepals .12 to .16" [3 to 4 mm] long, and the lip free from the thin straight column. At this point we cannot assign it to any group of species within Epidendrum." Hagsater etal 2009

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Icones Orchidacearum 12 Plate 1201 Hagsater 2009 see recognition section; * Icones Orchidacearum 12 Plate 1244 Chocce, Hágsater & M.E.Acuña 2009 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 13 Plate 1391 Hagsater & Santiago 2010 See recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 13 Plate 1392 Hagsater & Santiago 2010 See recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 17(1) Plate 1702 Hagsater & Jimenez 2019 See recognition section

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