Epidendrum ilense Dodson 1977 GROUP Jatunsachuanum
Photo by © Richard Ashby and hisOrchid Photo Website.
Photo by © Tom Dodson
TYPE Drawing by © Jimenez, Hágsater & E.Santiago and The AMO Herbario Website
Common Name The Ila Epidendrum [Mountains in Ecuador]
Flower Size 1 1/4" [3.5 cm]
Found in Ecuador in very wet, tropical forests in central and western Ecuador at elevations of 250 to 700 meters as a medium sized, hot to warm growing terrestrial or epiphyte with simple, cane-like, laterally compressed, suberect, tall, slender stems enveloped by tubular sheaths and forming keikis in the apical half carrying several pairs [13 to 18] of distichous, all along the stem, alternate, articulate, narrrowly elliptic, acute, minutely apiculate, basally clasping, margin entire leaves that blooms throughout the year on a terminal, pendant, 12" [30 cm] long, few flowered racemose inflorescence with much shorter than the ovary, triangular, acuminate, amplexicaul floral bracts and carrying 3 to 7, simultaneously opening flowers produced successively over the years.
The fact that this species has clusters of white, softly fragrant flowers, with a long fringe on the lip, along the stem arising from previous years inflorescence as well as at the apex distinguishes it from others. Leave old spikes until dead and brown as they can rebloom for several years from a node above the old rachis.
"Epidendrum ilense belongs to the GROUP Jatunsachuanum , which is recognized by the caespitose habit, numerous narrow leaves, apical inflorescence from young stems, with lateral inflorescences in mature plants of some species, the inflorescences producing new racemes through time, the lip with fimbriate margins, the pollinia obovoid, not “bird-wing” type. The species is recognized by the subcapitate, few-flowered inflorescences, the flowers simultaneous, greenish white, the sepals dorsally tinged purple, lip entire, immaculate, with a pair of small calli, margin deeply fimbriate. Epidendrum jatunsachanum Dodson & Hágsater has a racemose, apical inflorescence with successive flowers, the lip 3-obed with purple spots on the disc of the lip, and a pair of sub-globose, prominent calli. Epidendrum hajekii R.Vásquez & Dodson has racemose inflorescences, the sepals linear-oblanceolate, lip 3-lobed, immaculate, with a pair of evident calli." Hagsater etal 2013
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Selbyana 2:51 Dodson 1977 drawing fide; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum plate 081 Dodson 1980 drawing fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 50 No 9 1981 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 54 No 7 1985 photo fide; Orchids from The Coast Of Ecuador Arosemana, Jurado, Estrada and Konanz 1988 photo fide; The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Orchids Pridgeon 1992 photo fide; Manual Of Orchids Stewart 1995; AOS Bulletin Vol 66 No 11 1997 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 67 No 7 1998 photo fide; Native Ecuadorian Orchids Vol 2 Dodson 2001 drawing/photo fide; Botanica's Orchids Laurel Glen 2002 photo fide; Genera Orchidacearum Vol 4 Epidendoideae Part one Pridgeon, Cribb, Chase and Rasmussen 2005 photo fide; Flora's Orchids Nash & La Croix 2005 photo fide; Australian Orchid Review Vol 71 No 5 2006 photo; AOS Bulletin Vol 78 #6 2009 photo fide; Icones Orchidacearum 13 Plate 1341 Hagsater 2010 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 13 Plate 1342 Hagsater & Dodson 2010 See Recognition section; Orchids of Tropical America Meisel 2014 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 85 #1 2016 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 86 # 3 2017 photo fide; Orquideas, Tesoro de Colombia Vol 2 Ortiz & Uribe 2017 Drawing/Photo fide;
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