Epidendrum gaertelmaniae Hágsater & O.Pérez 2010 GROUP Andean SUBGROUP Cernuum
Photo by © Padre Pedro Ortiz
TYPE Drawing by © Jimenez and The AMO Herbaria Website
Common Name Terry Lynn Gaertelman-Gonzalez's Epidendrum [Orchid lover and Conservationist current]
Flower Size 1" [2.5 cm]
Found in the department of Cauca Colombia on the western slope of the Cordillera Central at elevations of 3300 to 3800 meters as a giant sized, cold growing monopodial lithophyte with distally branching, branches shorter than the main stem, cane-like, terete, straight, branching subapically stems carrying numerous larger along the main stem, 5 smaller along the apical half of the branches, alternate, elliptic to elliptic-lanceolate, bilobed, coriaceous, 4 pairs of secondary veins, margin entire leaves that blooms in the fall on a terminal, racemose, arching-nutant, sub-spherical, peduncle terete, arching, .8" [2 cm] long, naked, rachis straight, 3.2" [8 cm] long, simultaneously 20 to 27 flowered inflorescence with much shorter than the ovary, triangular, acuminate floral bracts and carrying resupinate, dark purple-green flowers with the calli and disc green or burnt pink that are yellow towards the base.
"Epidendrum gaertelmaniae belongs to the GROUP Andean SUBGROUP Cernuum, characterized by the monopodial, cane-like stems with subapical branching, the branches much shorter than the main stem, coriaceous to sub-coriaceous, bilobed leaves and fleshy resupinate flowers with the lip 3-lobed. The species has dark purple–green flowers, the calli and disc green or burnt pink sepals and petals, the base somewhat yellowish, and yellow disc and calli, the lateral sepals are prominently awned, the petals spatulate, single veined, apex rounded and margin erose, and the lateral lobes of the lip shorter than the mid-lobe, obliquely ovate, apical margins minutely erose, and the larger midlobe is rectangular, with the apex truncate minutely apiculate. Epidendrum cernuum Kunth has a long, cylindrical, many-flowered inflorescence with greenish yellow to yellowish brown, simultaneous, delicate flowers, the lateral sepals are prominently aristate, the lateral lobes of the lip obliquely ovate, much smaller than the mid-lobe which is sub-rectangular, longer than broad with the apex truncate and minutely apiculate; the disc has 3 low keels. Epidendrum brevicernuum Hágsater & Dodson has shorter, lax, few flowered inflorescence, greenish white to green flowers, petals narrowly oblanceolate, with entire margin, the lateral lobes of the lip as large as the mid-lobe, and the apex of the mid-lobe emarginate, not apiculate; the lip has a wide, rugose thickening which reaches the apex of the mid-lobe." Hagsater etal 2010
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Icones Orchidacearum 13 Plate 1334 Hágsater & Sanchez 2010 drawing fide; Orchids of the Department of Valle de Cauca Colombia Vol 2 Kolanowska, Hagsater, Ayala and Saldana 2014 drawing/photo fide fide; Orquideas, Tesoro de Colombia Vol 2 Ortiz & Uribe 2017 photo fide; Icones Orchidacearum 18(1) plate 1825 2020 Photos fide
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