Epidendrum heterodoxum Rchb.f. 1854
Photo by © M Jimenez and The AMO Herbaria Website
Drawing by © Dunsterville & Garay and The Swiss Orchid Foundation at the Jany Renz Herbaria Website
Common Name The Different Epidendrum
Flower Size .8" [2 cm]
Found only in northwestern and northcentral Venezuela at elevations of 600? to 1600? meters as a small sized, warm to cool growing epiphyte with cane-like, erect, straight, slightly apically complanate, green with tendency to purplish stems carrying to 14, all along the stem, 3 to 5, persistent at the apex, linear-lanceolate, shiny green with mostly purple marking on the ventral side and purple suffusions on the dorsal side leaves that blooms in the fall, winter and spring on a terminal, pendent, short to 2" [5 cm] long, racemose, several flowered inflorescence arising through a soft, elongate spathe and carrying slightly sweet scented flowers.
"Epidendrum heterodoxum is recognized by the erect, ancipitose stems with 5 to 8 progressively larger leaves, the prominent elliptic, acute spathe, erect or arching-nutant inflorescence, with the large pale green flowers facing downwards (when inflorescence is erect, they can be either resupinate or non-resupinate), the ovary in the shape of a fishing hook, turning down and backwards, floral bracts small, up to 3" [7.5 mm] long. It is somewhat reminiscent of Epidendrum hymenodes Lindl., which also has pendulous flowers, but the inflorescence in that species lacks any spathe, and the floral bracts are large and scarious, to 2.8" [70 mm] long. Epidendrum moronense has short, thickened stems 1.6" [4 cm] long, with 1 to 4, lanceolate elliptic leaves, nonresupinate flowers, greenish, to pinkish or buff, the lip white, sometimes tinged with pale pink, column green, strongly reflexed sepals and petals nearly as long as the ovary, and the lip is reniform to sub-orbicular, with the margin deeply laciniate. Though these species are not closely related, the shape and position of the flowers suggest a possible shared pollinator." Hagsater etal 2018
Synonyms Epidendrum caracasanum Regel 1859
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 96: 68 Schlechter 1919 as E caracasana; Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 6: 70 Schlechter 1919; Venezuelan Orchds Illustrated Vol 1 Dunsterville and Garay 1959 drawing fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 36 #9 1967; Flora de Venezuela Vol XV Tercera Parte Foldats 1970 drawing fide; Orchids of Venezuela, an Illustrated Field Guide Vol 2 Dunsterville & Garay 1979 drawing fide; Orchids of Venezuela, an Illustrated Field Guide Vol 2 Second Edition Romero & Carnevali 2000 drawing fide; Orquideas, Tesoro de Colombia Vol 2 Ortiz & Uribe 2017 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 16[1] Plate 1622 Hagsater / Santiago 2018 photos fide;
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
