Epidendrum fulgens Brongn. 1834 GROUP Secundum SUBGROUP Secundum

Photo by © Lourens Grobler

Another Flower in situ in Sao Paulo

Photo by © Jay Pfahl

Common Name or Meaning The Sparkling Epidendrum

Flower Size 1" [2.5 cm]

Found in Sao Paulo state of Brazil on the coast at 1 to 5 meters in elevation just 20 yards from the oceans edge as a medium to large sized, hot to warm growing terrestrial orchid with erect elongate reed-like canes carrying oblong, rigidly leathery, obtuse leaves that blooms at least in the fall in Brazil on an elongating, head-like ball of many successive flowers.

"Epidendrum fulgens belongs to the GROUP Secundum SUBGROUP Secundum which is characterized by the caespitose habit, erect, simple, cane-like stems, the normally elongate peduncle of the inflorescence, the erect raceme of showy, colorful flowers generally resupinate, and a lip adorned by two calli and a median narrow keel. The species is more widespread along the coast throughout São Paulo, Paraná, Santa Catarina, and the northern half of Rio Grande do Sul, and has red flowers, the lip yellow dotted red, flowers non-resupinate, facing towards the center of the raceme, endemic to the restinga sand dunes along the coast from São Paulo to Santa Catarina. Epidendrum pinheiroi a natural hybrid between the 2 species presented here is recognized by the red, non-resupinate flowers, the lip orange-red, the anther green, the apical lobes of the column, calli and mid-rib of the lip yellow, the yellow spilling onto the disc of the lip with small red dots, the calli are digitiform and upright, not laminar, petals rhombic-spatulate, .288" [7.2 mm] wide, and the lip deeply 3-lobed, base somewhat cordate, lateral lobes sub-quadrate, mid-lobe a narrow isthmus in the basal half, apical half bilobed, these lobes divergent, sub-quadrate, the distal margin laciniate. Epidendrum puniceoluteum, from the southern coast of Brazil, restricted to swamps along the coast, is also very similar; the petals are elliptic, .16 to .328" [4.0 TO 7.7 mm], the wider and shorter column has shorter apical lobes, and lip with sub-quadrate calli and has a wider mid-rib. " adapted from plate 1787 Hagsater etal 2020

Synonyms Epidendrum bradeanum Kraenzl. 1915; Epidendrum mosenii Rchb.f. 1880

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Symbolae Antillanae Vol VI Orchidaceae Urban 1909; Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 6: 70 Schlechter 1919; Encyclopedia of Cultivated Orchids Hawkes 1965 as E mosenii; Orchidaceae Brasilense Band 1 Pabst & Dungs 1975 drawing fide; Die Orchideen 3 Auflage Bd 1 Sonderabdruck aus Schlechter Lieferung 9 513 - 576 Brieger, Maatsch and Senghas 1977 drawing fide; Boletim CAOB No 53 2004 photo fide; Genera Orchidacearum Vol 4 Epidendoideae Part one Pridgeon, Cribb, Chase and Rasmussen 2005 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 17(2) Plate 1787 Hagsater & Jimenez 2020 see recognition section;

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