Epidendrum hunterianum Schltr. 1922 GROUP Difforme

Plant and Flowers in situ Costa Rica

Photos by © La Selva Digital Flora Website

LATE THROUGH LATE

Common Name Hunter's Epidendrum [Costa Rican Postmaster and Orchid Enthusiast 1900's]

Flower Size 1" [2.5 cm]

Found in Costa Rica and Panama in lowland, montane rainforest and cloud forests at elevations of 10 to 2200 meters as a small to medium sized, hot to cool growing epiphyte with simple, cane-like, laterally compressed, ancipitose stems carrying 5 to 8, all along the stem, coriaceous, elliptic to ovate, retuse, margin entire leaves that blooms in the late winter through late fall on a terminal, occuring only once, sessile inflorescence arising on a mature stem with shorter than the ovary, triangular, acute floral bracts and 4 to 6, resupinate, simultaneously opening flowers.

Known for its 4 to 6 flowered inflorescence with green flowers with a sub-orbicular, heart-shaped lip that is apiculate at the apex, the column with the prominences lightly apically erose and the triquetrous ovary.

" Epidendrum hunterianum belongs to the GROUP Difforme which is characterized by the caespitose, sympodial plants, fleshy, pale green to glaucous leaves, apical inflorescence, sessile, rarely with a short peeluncle, one- flowered to corymbose, wlthout spathaceous bracts, fleshy, green to yellowish-green rarely white flowers. The species can be recognized by its laterally compressed, ancipitose stems, 4 to 6 flowers with an inflated and triquetrous ovary, lip suborbicular cordiform, entire, apiculate, column with prominent lateral, erose processes and a prominent, dentate clinandrium-hood. It is similar to Epidendrum vulgoamparoanum Hágsater & L.Sánchez, which has 1 to 5 flowers, a terete ovary, oblanceolate petals, the lip reniform to obscurely 3- lobed, with the midlobe emarginate and the clinandrium-hood fimbriate. Epidendrum romerocastanneclae Hágsater & L. Sánchez from the inland hills around the Golfo del Darién in eastern Panama anel northern Colombia, has narrower leaves, smaller flowers, a terete ovary, the lip obscurely 3- lobed, reniform, with the base deeply cordate, covered with thickened, radiating veins, and the margin slightly undulate. Epidendrum apaganum Mansf. from Peru, has 3 to 5 flowers, a terete ovary anda 3- lobed lip." Hagsater etal 2006

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; *Repert. Sp. Nov. Regni. Veg. Beih. 17: 33. Panama Schlechter 1922; The Genus Epidendrum Ames 1936; The Orchids of Panama L.O. Williams & P Allen 1946; Ceiba Vol 5 No 1 L O Williams 1956; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum Plate 1318 Atwood 1989 drawing ok; Phylogeny and Classification of the Orchid Family Dressler 1993 photo fide; Field Guide to the Orchids of Costa Rica and Panama Dressler 1993; Manual de las Plantas de Costa Rica Vol 3 Hammel, Grayum, Herrera and Zamora 2003; Icones Orchidacearum 8 Plate 842 Hagsater & Sanchez 2006 drawing fide; Orchids of Costa Rica Vol 3 Morales 2009 photo fide; Icones Orchidacearum 14 Plate 1421 Hagsater & Santiago 2013 See recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 16[1] Plate 1632 Hagsater & Santiago 2018 See recognition section;

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