Epidendrum isis Hágsater & Dodson 2004 GROUP Amblostoma SUBGROUP Amblostomoides

TYPE Drawing by © Lopez and The AMO Herbaria Website

Part Shade Cool Fall

Common Name Isis Epidendrum [Egyptian goddess of the heavens who had a head dress composed of a pair of upright, cow-horn embracing a sun disc reminiscent of the upright petals running next to the dorsal sepal]

Flower Size .24" [.6 mm]

Found in central Ecuador on the Pacific slope at elevations of 400 to 600 meters as a medium sized, warm growing epiphyte with simple, cane-like, slightly thickened, terete, straight stems carrying 4 to 6, towards the apex of the stem, alternate, articulate, suberect, oblong-lanceolate, bilobed, low dorsal keel, margin entire leaves that blooms in the fall on a terminal, paniculate, suberect, 4 to 6 branched, peduncle long, terete, thin, straight, with a triangular, acute basal bract, rachis elongate, very thin, straight, densely, simultaneously 180 flowered inflorescence with half as long as the ovary, narrowly triangular, acuminate floral bracts and carrying resupinate, very small flowers with greenish brown sepals, a greenish white lip and a white column.

"Epidendrum isis belongs to the GROUP Amblostoma SUBGROUP Amblostomoides which is characterized by the caespitose habit, thinly fusiform stems, narrow, coriaceous, apically bilobed leaves distributed along the apical half of the stems,erect, large paniculate inflorescence, the flowers greenish yellow to white, usually pubescent ovaries and sepals, and the lip usuall y 3-lobed. The species has an entire lip with the sac-like structures at the base are quite distinct, as is the very small size of the flowers. Epidendrum lanipes common on the eastern side of the Andes, has lager, fragrant, white flowers, the petals horizontal and the lip 3-lobed, without any basal sac-like structures." Hagsater ettal 2004

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Icones Orchidacearum 7 Plate 749 Hágsater & Dodson 2004 drawing fide

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