Epidendrum gloria-imperatrix Hágsater & G.Calat. 2007 GROUP Cristatum SUBGROUP Cnemidophorum

TYPE Drawing by © Jimenez, Hágsater & E.Santiago and The AMO Herbario Website

Common Name or Meaning The Gloria Emperatriz Hermosa de Calatayud Epidendrum [In Memorium of the mother of the second author 1900's]

Flower Size .8" [2 cm]

Found in northern Peru at elevations of 1250 to 1800 meters as a large sized, cool growing epiphyte or terrestrial with cane-like, erect, straight, arising from the base of the previous stem and carrying numerous, all along the apical 2/3's, distichous, articulate, erect-spreading, lanceolate-elliptic, acuminate, conduplicate basally leaves that blooms in the winter on a terminal, racemose, producing successive racemes year after year from among the bracts of the peduncle, arching, 5.6" [14 cm] long including the 5.2" [13 cm] long peduncle enveloped completely by 12 to 14, imbricating, conduplicate, subacute to rounded bracts, rachis, terete, thin, .4" [1 cm] long rachis, simultaneosuly 2 to 5 flowered inflorescence with much shorter than the ovary, ovate, subacute floral bracts and carrying resupinate, cream colored flowers with the apices fuschia and the lip with brown dots.

"Epidendrum gloria-imperatrix belongs to the GROUP Cristatum SUBGROUP Cnemidophorum, recognized by the cane-like stems, numerous large, narrow leaves, apical inflorescence subtended by several large, acute, imbricating bracts, racemose, nutant inflorescence with fleshy flowers, the three-lobed lip with entire margins. The species is recognized by the narrow leaves .52 to .8" [13 to 20 mm] wide, the 12 to 14 rounded to subacute, imbricating bracts covering the peduncle of the lax 2 to 5 flowered inflorescence, sepals .68 to .94" [17 to 23.5 mm] long, cream-colored flowers occasionally with the apex tinged fuchsia, transversely elliptic lateral lobes of the lip, and the midlobe rectangular ending in a pair of divergent, subtriangular lobes. It is similar to Epidendrum gualaquicense Hágsater & Dodson which has leaves of similar width, green and white flowers, sepals .84" [21 mm] long and the midlobe of the lip obcuneate, shallowly sinuate at the apex, the corners rounded. Epidendrum oraion Hágsater from northern Colombia has very attractive, fuchsia and white colored flowers, the basal lobes semi-orbicular, and the lobes of the bilobed midlobe strongly divaricate, the leaves are .08 to .12" [2 to 3 cm] wide. The north mesoamerican E cnemidophorum Rchb.f. is very similar overall, with very attractive, flowers, fuchsia marked with red-brown spots." Hagsater etal 2007

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Icones Orchidacearum 9 Plate 940 Hagsater & Sanchez 2007 drawing fide;

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