Epidendrum gerlachianum Hágsater, O.Pérez & E.Santiago 2013 GROUP Andean SUBGROUP Cernuum
TYPE Photo/TYPE Drawing by © Perez and The AMO Herbaria Website
Common Name Gerlach's Epidendrum [German Botanist in Botanische Garten Munchen in Munich, Specialist in Stanhopinae current]
Flower Size 3" [7.5 cm]
Found in the department of Cundinamarca Colombia on the eastern slope of the Cordillera Oriental near Guasca and Tachira Venezuela at elevations of 2700 to 3100 meters as a giant sized, cold growing monopodial terrestrial with cane-like, simple in youth, branching near the apex in time, terete, erect, straight stems carrying numerous, 29 in the type, alternate, articulate, coriaceous, deciduous, similar in size and shape, elliptic to lanceolate, rounded apically, shortly bilobed, margin entire leaves that blooms in the summer on a terminal, 2" [5 cm] long including the flowers, peduncle to .08" [2mm] long, obsolete, terete, thick, naked, rachis very short .68" [1.7 cm] long, apical, corymbos, occuring only once, erect, compact, successively single, but eventually 6 flowered and open at one time, inflorescence with resupinate, yellow green flowers with the column and lip white.
"Epidendrum gerlachianum belongs to the GROUP Andean SUBGROUP Cernuum, which is characterized by the monopodial, branching habit, the erect cane-like stems with a sub-apical branching, racemose, nutant inflorescence, compact, fleshy flowers, with the lip three-lobed. The species is recognized by the tall, erect, stem, erect, compact inflorescence, the large flowers with oblong-lanceolate sepals .164 to .154" [41 to 44 mm] long, linear-oblong petals .16 to .164" [40 to 41 mm] long, and the mid-lobe of the lip oblong, obtuse and apiculate, the apical 1/3 somewhat bent downwards towards the ventral surface of the lip, .6" [15 mm} long. It is similar to Epidendrum steyermarkii A.D.Hawkes, which has lax-flowered inflorescence,2 to 2.8" [5 to 7 cm] long peduncle and rachis; large flowers with oblanceolate to oblong-elliptic sepals 1.1 to 1.4" [26 to 35 mm] long, oblanceolate to sub-spatulate petals 1.04 to 1.12" [26 to 28 mm] long, mid-lobe of the lip oblong and apiculate, .44 to .56" [11 to 14 mm] long. Epidendrum pichinchae Schltr. has taller plants, 80" [2 meters] high, branched above, smaller flowers, the floral segments long-acuminate, lateral sepals falcate, .6 to .84" [15 to 21 mm] long, the mid-lobe of the lip sub-rhombic towards the apical half, with a long, parallel-sided isthmus, and a prominent apiculus." Hagsater etal 2013
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Icones Orchidacearum 14 Plate 1431 E. Hágsater, O. Pérez & E. Santiago 2013 photo/drawing fide; Orquideas, Tesoro de Colombia Vol 2 Ortiz & Uribe 2017 photo fide; Icones Orchidacearum 17(1) Plate 1764 Hagsater & Jimenez 2019 see recognition section;
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