Epidendrum gracillimum Rchb.f. & Warsz. GROUP Epidendropsis SUBGROUP Gracillimum
Photos by © Rebecca Repasky and the Botanical Research Institue of Texas and their Atrium Website
Drawing by © Bennett & Christenson
Common Name The Very Graceful Epidendrum
Flower Size .25" [6 mm]
Found in Ecuador and Peru in scrubby montane forests on low tree branches at elevations of 1700 to 1900 meters as a small sized, cool growing epiphyte with a slender stem enveloped by several distichous, imbricating, leaf bearing sheaths and carrying linear, acute, articulated, clear green leaves that blooms in the summer on a terminal, scapose, slender, arching, paniculate, each branch 4 to 5 flowered, 5" [12.5 cm] long, several flowered inflorescence with 3 to 5 approximate, conduplicate, long acuminate bracts and very small floral bracts.
"Epidendrum gracillimum belongs to the GROUP Epidendropsis SUBGROUP Gracillimum characterized by the sympodial, caespilose, relatively small plants with non-thickened stems, long, paniculate inflorescence, delicate, small flowers, and long, narrow, subcoriaceous leaves. The species is recognized by narrower leaves, a long narrow nectary penetrating about half the ovary, linear petals, and an entire, reniform lip. Epidendrum cryptorhachis is characterized by by the short plants with a long inflorescence, about twice as long as the apical leaf or more, appearing at first sight racemose, with an erect, laterally compressed rachis, prominent bracts, but under closer inspection paniculate, with short, strict, parallel, 4 to 14 flowered racemes appearing from each of the upper bracts, ovary short, .2 to .24" [5 to 6 mm] long, the petals narrowly spatulate, .148" x .4" [3.7 x 1 mm], and a wide, reniform, 3-lobed lip, deeply cordate, the midlobe formed by two small, rounded lobes with a wide apicule in the sinus. It is similar to Epidendrum physophorum Schltr. from Bolivia has a much shorter inflorescence, the branches widespread, flowers smaller, a short, inflated nectary, a comparatively slender column, sepals .121" [3.25 mm] long, petals linear, and the reniform, entire lip with a dentate-erose margin." Adapted from Icones Plate 823 E cryptorhachis Hagsater etal 2006
Synonyms Epidendrum schlimii var. gracillimum (Rchb.f. & Warsz.) C.Schweinf 1953
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Orchids of Peru Vol 2 Fieldiana Schweinfurth 1959 as E schilimii var gracillimum; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum Series II plate 221 Dodson & Vasquez 1989 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum Peruviarum Plate 048 Bennett & Christenson 1993 drawing fide; Orchids of Bolivia Vol II Laelinae Vasquez & Ibisch 2004 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 8 Plate 823 Hagsater & Sanchez 2006 in recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 15 [2] Plate 1580 Hagsater & Sanchez 2016 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 15 [2] Plate 1587 Hagsater & Sanchez 2016 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 15 [2] Plate 1588 Hagsater & Sanchez 2016 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 15 [2] Plate 1600 Hagsater & Sanchez 2016 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 16[1] Plate 1656 Hagsater & Santiago 2018 See recognition section
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