Epidendrum lacteum Dressler 1978 GROUP Oerstedella SUBGROUP Wallisii

TYPE Drawing by Jimenez and The AMO Herbaria Website

LATE

Common Name The Milk-White Epidendrum

Flower Size 1” [2.5 cm]

Found in central Panama in very wet forests at elevations of 700 to 1100 meters as a medium sized, warm to cool growing epiphyte or lithophyte with simple, new stem arising from near the base of the previous stem, cane-like, terete, thin, erect, stem carrying 9 to 12, all along the apical 2/3’s of the stem, alternate, articulate, elliptic to lanceolate, obtuse to slightly bilobed apically, subcoriaceous, margin entire leaves that blooms in the spring on a terminal and lateral, apical panicle with 2 lateral racemes, peduncle terete, thin, basally naked, rachis, short, terete, thin, straight, erect, lax, simultaneously, about 35 flowered inflorescence with 4 to 6 flowers on each raceme with much shorter than the ovary, triangular-ovate, acute floral bracts and carrying resupinate, very fragrant flowers with the tepals greenish creamy and a white lip.

"Epidendrum lacteum belongs to the GROUP Oerstedella which is characterized by the sympodial habit, mostly verrucose stems, and the rostellum which is perpendicular to the axis of the column instead of parallel, forming a wide, open sinus, and without a viscidium, and the SUBGROUP Wallisii which has large, fleshy flowers the lip entire or 3- lobed, the midlobe of the lip bilobed, the clinandrium-hood petaloid, and the pollinia obovoid, laterally compressed, with granuose caudicles. The species is recognized by the medium sized plants to 17.2" [43 cm] high with large flowers with sepals .64 to .68" [16 to 17 mm] long, showy, very fragrant, greenish creamy flowers with the lip white, immaculate, the lip with 4 rounded lobes; endemic from central Panama. Epidendrum schweinfurthianum Correll has taller plants, 26 to 60" [65 to 150 cm] high, with smaller immaculate flowers, sepals .4 to .48" [10 to 12 mm] long, sepals and petals orange-copper colored, the lip purple violet towards the callus, turning pink towards the margin; found in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. Epidendrum wallisii Rchb. f has a few, larger flowers, sepals .6 to .92" [15 to 23 mm] long and petals yellow usually dotted with purple-red, and the lip white with purple lines and or dots; found from Costa Rica to western Colombia." Hagsater etal 2006

Synonyms Oerstedella lactea (Dressler) Hágsater 1981

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Icones Orchidacearum 8 Plate 849 Hagsater & Santiago 2006 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum Vol 8 Plate 866 Hagsater & Sanchez 2006 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum Vol 8 Plate 899 Hagsater & Sanchez 2006 see recognition section;

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