Epidendrum lilijae Foldats 1968 GROUP Pleuranthium SUBGROUP Phragmites
TYPE Drawing by © Foldats
Drawing by © Jimenez, Hágsater & E.Santiago and The AMO Herbario Website
Original Drawing by © Padre Pedro Ortiz Conserved at the Herbario de la Universidad Javeriana, Bogota Colombia
Common Name Lilija's Epidendrum [Colombian Orchid Collector early 1900's]
Flower Size .4" [1 cm]
Found in Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador at elevations around 1100 to 2500 meters as a large to giant sized, cool to cold growing epiphyte or terrestrial with laterally branched, each branch simple, erect stems enveloped by close, truncate, tubular sheaths and carrying in the upper 2/3's, relatively thin, distichous, linear-lancelate, longly attenuate-acuminate, cuneate below and articulate to the sheath leaves that blooms in the summer and fall on several lateral, all along the stem below the leaves, short, 1/2" to .6" [1.25 cm to 1.5 cm] long, single flowered inflorescence enveloped by 3 to 4 sub-coriaceous, rounded apically bracts and carrying green to greenish white flowers without a scent.
"Epidendrum lilijae belongs to the GROUP Pleuranthium , characterized by the caespitose habit, cane-like and elongate stems, several short, lateral inflorescences, and the SUBGROUP Phragmites which has generally non-branching stems, sub-sessile, 1 or 2 flowered inflorescences, the flowers green or yellowish green, the ovary somewhat inflated and nearly hidden by 2 to 4 tubular, imbricating bracts. The species is recognized by the tall 40 to 60" [100 to 150 cm] branching stems with linear-lanceolate, long acuminate leaves, single-flowered inflorescences (though flowers are successive), flowers tubular at anthesis, sepals partly connate, eventually spreading and free. Sepals lanceolate-elliptic, .32 to .4" [8 to 10 mm] long, lip ovate with the base truncate, column with a pair of dentate wings and clinandrium-hood short. Epidendrum phragmitoides Hágsater has short plants ca 8: [20 cm] tall, ovate-elliptic leaves with the apex obtuse and bilobed, sepals partly spreading, oblong-lanceolate, .4" [10 mm] long, lip sub-entire with a pair of small, triangular lateral lobes, prominent clinandrium surpassing the body of the column. Epidendrum phragmites Heller & L.O.Williams has stems about 32" [80 cm] tall with ovate-elliptic to ovate-lanceolate leaves, the apex bilobed, inflorescence 1 to 2 flowered, sepals partly spreading, .48 to .548" [12 to 13.7 mm] long, the lip bicallose with a wide mid-rib and the clinandrium very prominent, surpassing the apex of the column. Epidendrum brachybotrys Ackerman & Montalvo has stems up to 20" [50 cm] tall, the leaves narrowly elliptic with the apex acuminate, flowers 1 to 2, greenish white, sepals spreading, totally free, .38 to .4" [9.5 to 10 mm] long, the lip sub-reniform, base cordate, with a pair of sub-globose calli." Hagsater etal 2015
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Flora de Venezuela, Vol XV Parte 3 Foldats 1970 drawing fide; Venezuelan Orchids Illustrated Vol 6 Dunsterville & Garay 1976 drawing fide; Orchids of Venezuela, An Illustrated Field Guide Vol 1 Dunsterville & Garay 1979 drawing fide; Orchids of Venezuela [An illustrated field guide] Vol. 1 Ramiro and Carnevali 2000 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 11 Plate 1158 Hagsater 2008 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 13 Plate 1371 Hagsater & Dodson 2010 See Recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 15 [1] plate 1534 Hagsater & Santiago 2015 drawing fide; Orquideas, Tesoro de Colombia Vol 2 Ortiz & Uribe 2017 Drawing fide;
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