Epidendrum ionostachyum Hágsater, E.Santiago & García-Revelo 2016 GROUP Macrostachyum
TYPE Photo by S. García-Revelo/ TYPE Drawing by © Jimenez and The AMO Herbaria Website
Common Name The Violet Ear Of Corn Epidendrum
Flower Size .3" [7.5 mm]
Found in Risaralda and Choco departments of Colombia on the upper Pacific slope of the Cordillera Occidental at elevations of 2150 to 2500 meters as a large sized, cold growing terrestrial with branching when mature, branches shorter, cane-like, laterally compressed, erect, straight stems carrying numerous, all along the stems, articulate, alternate, sub-coriaceous, elliptic-lanceolate, acute, margin entire leaves that blooms at most any time of the year on a terminal, without a spathe, racemose, erect, occuring only once, cylindrical, peduncle .28 [7 mm] long, subterete, thin, rachis 7.32" [19.3 cm] long, terete, straight, densely, simultaneously 50 to 60 flowered inflorescence with shorter than the ovary, triangular, shortly acuminate, embracing floral bracts and carrying non-resupinate, fleshy, dorsally green, ventrally purple flowers with a entirely purple column.
"Epidendrum ionostachyum belongs to the GROUP Macrostachyum SUBGROUP Macrostachyum, which is characterized by the monopodial plants with sub-apical branching, rugose leaf sheaths, racemose inflorescence, and fleshy flowers with a simple, conduplicate lip embracing the column, and the nectary pubescent to papillose in front of the stigmatic cavity. The species is recognized by the cylindrical, densely many-flowered inflorescence, flowers pale purple ventrally, dorsally green, sepals .24" [6 mm] long, dorsally echinate, petals falcate, apex acute, lip deltate, base truncate. Epidendrum palaciosii Hágsater & Dodson is vegetatively very similar, but the flowers are gray, sepals .32" [8 mm] long, dorsally muricate, petals oblanceolate, apex rounded, and the lip is cordiform. Epidendrum polyanthostachyum Hágsater, E.Santiago & GarcíaRevelo has cylindrical inflorescences, green flowers with turn yellow with age, sepals .4" [10 mm] long, dorsally glabrous, petals oblong-oblanceolate and the lip widely deltate, base cordate. Epidendrum borealistachyum Hágsater & E.Santiago has pyramidal inflorescence, the flowers laxly distributed along the rachis, flowers grayish lilac, lip white, sepals .32 to .36" [8 to 9 mm] long, unornamented, petals oblong with the apex rounded, not falcate." Hagsater etal 2016
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Icones Orchidacearum 15 [2] Plate 1586 Hágsater, E.Santiago & García-Revelo 2016 drawing fide; Orquideas, Tesoro de Colombia Vol 2 Ortiz & Uribe 2017 Photo fide;
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