Epidendrum hartmanii Hágsater & L.Sánchez GROUP Alpicolum SUBGROUP Pergracile

Drawing by © Jimenez and The AMO Herbaria Website

Common Name Hartman's Epidendrum [American Peace Corps volunteer current]

Flower Size 1.2" [3 cm]

Found in Valle de Cauca department of Colombia near the summit of the Cordillera Occidental in montane, pluvial forests at elevations around 3100 meters as a medium sized, cold growing terrestrial with simple, cane-like, basally terete, laterally compressed towards the apex, erect stem enveloped basally by tubular, scarious, non-foliar sheaths and carrying a single, apical, smooth, subcoriaceous, oblong-lanceolate, subobtuse, mucronate, margin entire leaf that blooms in the winter on a terminal, racemose, arching-nutant, arising through a tubular, acute, spathe covering 2/3's of the peduncle, peduncle 3.8" [9.5 cm] long, thin, laterally compressed, 5.8" [14.5 cm] long overall, densely, simultaneously to 15 flowered inflorescence with shorter than the ovary, progressively shorter towards the apex, triangular, acuminate floral bracts and carrying resupinate, red colored flowers that apparently open at the apex first and then down to the base.

"Epidendrum hartmanii belongs to the GROUP Alpicolum SUBGROUP Pergracile which is characterized by the sympodial, caespitose to sometimes somewhat creeping habit, stems cane-like, simple, several leaved, with an elongate apical, racemose, lax-flowered inflorescence, the flowers star-shaped, membranaceous, the lip 3-lobed, not fleshy thickened, bicallose, the mid-lobe rectangular to triangular, the lateral lobes dolabriform to semi-orbicular. The species is recognized by the 14" [35 cm] tall plants, including the inflorescence, unifoliate stems, leaf 3.4 to 4.8 x .36 to .52" [8.5 to 12 x 0.9 to 1.3 cm], red flowers apparently opening from the apex of the inflorescence towards the base; lateral sepals with a prominent dorsal keel, petals single veined, the margin of the apical half somewhat dentate, lip bicallose, the calli small, laminar, continued into a pair of laminar ribs, short and parallel to the mid-rib which reaches the apex of the mid-lobe of the lip. Epidendrum moritzii Rchb.f. has longer, wider leaves, green flowers, laminar calli, the disc of the lip with a fleshy mid-rib that reaches the middle of the disc; mid-lobe of the lip rectangular-oblong, apex acute. Epidendrum cyclopterum Schltr. has much shorter plants 4 to 4.8" [10 to 12 cm] tall, smaller leaves 1.8 to 2 x .28 to .32" [4.5 to 5.0 x 0.7 to 0.8 cm], a longer ovary ca. .4" [10 mm] long, the apical margin of the petals sub-crenulate, and columns short, .16" [4 mm] long. Epidendrum corallinum Hágsater has shorter leaves, 3 to 3.2 x .56 to .64" 7.5 to 8.0 x 1.4 to 1.6 cm], coral-red flowers, 3-veined petals with the apical margin denticulate, calli elongate, parallel, disc of the lip fleshy, circular, with a pair of parallel grooves, and the border formed by fleshy, sub-globose growths, lateral lobes of the lip with a crenate margin, mid-lobe transversely pentagonal, the apex fleshy, and the column .24" [6 mm] long." Hagsater etal 2013

Synonyms

ReferencesW3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Icones Orchidacearum 14 Plate 1435 Hagsater & Sanchez 2013 drawing fide; Orchids of the Department of Valle De Cauca Colombia Vol 2 Kolanowska, Hagsater etal. 2014 photo drawing/photo fide; Orquideas, Tesoro de Colombia Vol 2 Ortiz & Uribe 2017;

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