Epidendrum heliconaense Hágsater & E.Santiago 2009 GROUP Andean SUBGROUP Cernuum

TYPE Drawing by © Jimenez and The AMO Herbaria Website

Part Shade Cold LATE Summer EARLY Fall

Common Name The Cordillera de Hellicona Epidendrum [a branch of the Cordillera Oriental of Colombia]

Flower Size .8" [2 cm]

Found in Cundinamarca department of Colombia at elevations around 3000 meters as a giant sized, cold growing, monopodial terrestrial with cane-like, terete, branching above, main stem much longer than the branches and carrying more than 12 on the main stem and 6 to 7 on the branches, all along the apical half of the stem, distichous, articulate, erect-spreading, coriaceous, elliptic, rounded to slightly bilobed, margin entire leaves that blooms in the late summer and early fall on a terminal, racemose, occuring only once, arching-nutant, peduncle short, laterally compressed, with a triangular-lanceolate, acute bract in the middle, majorly simultaneously 20 to 30 flowered inflorescence with shorter than the ovary, triangular-ovate, shortly acuminate floral bracts and carrying resupinate, fleshy, pale yellow turning yellowish brown in time flowers.

"Epidendrum heliconaënse belongs to the GROUP Andean SUBGROUP Cernuum , characterized by the monopodial branching habit, cane-like stems, branching sub-apically, the branches shorter than the main stem, leaves coriaceous to sub-coriaceous and fleshy flowers, the lip 3-lobed. The species is recognized by the elliptic, apically rounded leaves, densely many flowered inflorescence, small, yellow to brownish yellow flowers with sepals .36" [9 mm] long, wide floral segments,.2" [ 5 mm] long column, and 3-lobed lip, with a very fleshy, low, wide keel. Epidendrum cornicallosum Foldats has larger flowers with sepals .84 to 1.04" [21 to 26 mm} long, and the margin of the lip revolute. Epidendrum pazii Hágsater, of the SUBGROUP Renilabium is vegetatively very similar, but the flowers are creamy green, larger (sepals.84" [21 mm} long, and the entire lip, reniform." Hagsater etal 2009

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Icones Orchidacearum 12 Plate 1253 Hagsater & Santiago 2009 drawing fide; Orquideas, Tesoro de Colombia Vol 2 Ortiz & Uribe 2017 Photo fide;

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