Epidendrum gabanense Hágsater & E.Santiago 2010 GROUP Amblostoma SUBGROUP Amblostomioides

TYPE Drawing by © Jimenez and The AMO Herbaria Website

Common Name The San Gaban Valley Epidendrum [Refers to the location where the species type occurs]

Flower Size .6" [1.5 cm]

Found in southeastern Peru along the Amazon slope of the Andes at elevations between 1000 and 2000 meters as a medium sized, cool growing epiphyte with simple, cane-like, slightly laterally compressed, straight stems carrying 4 to 5, aggregate towards the apex, alternate, articulate, equal except the basal leaf reduced, lanceolate, bilobed, dorsal keel, margin entire and slightly revolute leaves that blooms in the summer on a terminal, paniculate, erect, apical branches arching and erect, lower ones somewhat spreading, peduncle, thin, laterally compressed, with a small triangular, acute bract towards the middle, simultaneously 150 flowered inflorescence overall with much shorter than the ovary, triangular, acute floral bracts and carrying resupinate, small, delicate, white flowers.

"Epidendrum gabanense belongs to the GROUP Amblostoma SUBGROUP Amblostomioides which is characterized by the sympodial, caespitose habit, the thinly fusiform stems with narrow, apically bilobed, sub-coriaceous leaves distributed along the apical half of the stems, an often large, apical, erect, paniculate inflorescence, the flowers greenish-yellow to white, the ovary and the sepals usually dorsally pubescent, and the lip 3-lobed. The species is recognized by the short-pubescent ovaries, small, delicate flowers, sepals .224 to .288" [5.6 to 7.2 mm] long, dorsally papillate, the shallow, rounded, lateral lobes; the anther with a pair of short, rounded appendages at the apex. It is similar to E. pubiflorum which has larger, heavier flowers with sepals .36 to .44" [9 to 11 mm] long, the lip deeply 3-lobed, with the lateral lobes obliquely dolabriform-ovate, acute, the calli and mid-keel forming three parallel keels; the anther with a pair of apical, acuminate appendages. Epidendrum ancirotylosum Hágsater & E.Santiago also has larger, heavier flowers, but the calli are cuniculate and have an anchor-shaped thickening in front. The plant is very similar to Epidendrum tridactylum Lindl. 1838 , which is vegetatively very similar, but has a deeply 3-lobed lip with similar, narrow, oblong lobes." Hagsater etal 2010

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Icones Orchidacearum 13 Plate 1333 Hágsater & Sanchez 2010 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 15 [1] Plate 1540 Hagsater & Sanchez 2015 see recognition section;

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