Epidendrum libiae Hágsater, García Lopera & Est.Domínguez 2015 GROUP Difforme

TYPE Drawing by Jimenez and The AMO Herbaria Website

Fragrance Part Shade Cool LATE Spring EARLY Summer

Common Name Libia’s Epidendrum [Colombian Mother of the second author 1900’s]

Flower Size2.4” [6 cm]

Found in Risaralda department of Colombia on the western slope of the Cordillera Occidental in wet rainforests at elevations of 1000 to 1500 meters as as medium sized, cool growing epiphyte with simple, cane-like, basally terete, laterally compressed above, flexuous stem carrying 9 to 10, all along the stems, narrowly elliptic-lanceolate, retuse, coriaceous leaves that blooms in the late spring and early summer on a terminal, on a mature stem, occuring only once, sessile, subcorymbose, simultaneously 10 flowered inflorescence with much shorter than the ovary, triangular, acute, amplexicaul floral bracts and carrying resupinate, greenish, citrus scented flowers.

" Epidendrum libiae belongs to the GROUP Difforme which is characterized by the caespitose, sympodial plants, fleshy light green to glaucous leaves, apical inflorescence without any spathe, sessile, rarely with a short peduncle, one-flowered to corymbose, fleshy, and flowers green to yellowish-green, rarely white. The species is recognized by the laterally compressed stems, 9 to 10 simultaneous flowers, long ovary .244 to .26" [61 to 65 mm] long, scarcely ornamented with small irregular trichomes, sub-orbicular-reniform lip, with the sides obliquely revolute in natural position, with 3 thickened ribs in the middle, and additional somewhat thickened, low, radiating veins, clinandrium-hood 3-lobed, deeply fimbriate, the lateral lobes longer and narrower than the mid-lobe. It is reminiscent of Epidendrum pachyceras from Costa Rica and Panama, but that species has 1 to 3 flowers, elliptic sepals, linear-elliptic, single veined petals, a shorter ovary 1.12 to 2" [28 to 50 mm] long, and the lip does not show any evidently thickened veins, column .48 to .56" [12 to 14 mm] long, with obtuse petaloid wings, and the clinandrium dentate-fimbriate. Epidendrum pseudokillipii Hágsater & L. Sánchez, sympatric with this species has plants up to 15.2" [38 cm] tall, 2 to 3 flowers, sepals .68 to .72" [17 to 18 mm] long, a shorter ovary, 1 to 1.6" [25 to 40 mm] long, .26" [6.5 mm] wide petals with a somewhat irregular margin, the lip widely cordiform-reniform, the disc without ribs nor thickened veins, and a shorter, fimbriate clinandrium-hood. Epidendrum romero-castannedae Hágsater & L.Sánchez, found in the hills around the Gulf of Darién in eastern Panama and northern Colombia, including the Chocó, has shorter plants, 1 to 5 flowers, narrowly elliptic sepals and petals, a shorter ovary 1.4 to 2.2" [35 to 55 mm] long, and an obscurely 3-lobed, reniform lip with small calli, and radiating thickened veins, the margin somewhat undulate and a prominent, narrow, clinandrium-hood. Epidendrum vulgoamparoanum Hágsater & L.Sánchez found along the Pacific lowlands of Costa Rica and Panama in dry spiny forest generally has 3 to 5, rarely 10 flowers, elliptic sepals and petals, a shorter ovary 1.2 to 2.4" [30 to 60 mm] long, widely obovate, obscurely 3-lobed lip with the margin slightly undulate, small, sub-globose calli, and numerous thickened veins at the base, a prominent, entire clinandrium-hood, with the margin erose-fimbriate." Hagsater 2015

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Icones Orchidacearum 15 [1] plate 1533 Hagsater & Lopera & Dominguez 2015 drawing fide; Orquideas, Tesoro de Colombia Vol 2 Ortiz & Uribe 2017 Photo fide;

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