TYPE Photo by © C. Castro/TYPE Drawing by M. Morales-Sánchez and The AMO Herbario Website
THROUGH MID 
Common Name The Lavender Violet Epidendrum [Refers to the flower color]
Flower Size 1.2" [3 cm]
Found in Cundinamarca and Boyaca departments of Colombia in Andean montane forests at elevtions of 2800 to 3000 meters as a giant sized, cold growing epiphyte with pendent, terete to slightly elliptic in cross section stems, lower part covered by tubular sheaths; new stems produced from a middle internode of the previous stem and carrying 3 to 12, distichous, distributed along the apical ¾ of the stems with tubular, green to wine-red, glabrous sheaths; blade articulate, linear-lanceolate, acuminate, base cuneate, coriaceous, smooth, green, glabrous, margin minutely crenulate leaves that blooms in the spring through mid summer on a terminal, erect, arising through 2, imbricated, the first 4.8" [12 cm] long, the second 3.6" [9 cm] long, lanceolate, acuminate, coriaceous, hay-yellow spathes, peduncle short, terete to slightly compressed, rachis elongate, 5.6 to 8" [14 to 20 cm] long, apical, racemose, pendent simultaneously to 20 flowered inflorescence with shorter to twice as long as the ovary, lanceolate, acute, papyraceous, green glabrous floral bracts and carrying resupinate, olive green tinged wine-red, lip olive green with pale wine-red around the base, column pale green, becoming tinged wine-red when mature, anther salmon colored and apparently non fragrant.
"This Orchid occurs in forests with trees of Weinnmania, Ocotea, Morella parviflora, and Brunellia within the high-Andean forest. Known only from eastern Andean mountain ranges on its eastern side, from five locations; two with old records of forest currently very fragmented due to the proximity to Bogotá and subjected to constant anthropic pressure and two recent additional localities; one of the Protect Forest Reserve near the city of Tunja of the department of Boyacá, where only two mature individuals were found in fragmented areas, the other locality is in a fragmented riparian forest in the Sumapáz area of Capital District of Bogotá. The species is of slow growth and it is estimated that flowering occurs two years from the moment a lateral bud is generated to the anthesis." Hagsater etal 2020
"Epidendrum malmoense belongs to the GROUP Ampelospathum characterized by the scandent habit, with new stems produced from the middle of the previous stems, roots produced at the base of the main stem, and occasionally from the base of the successive stems, an apical, arching, racemose inflorescence subtended by 1 to 2, large, acute spathaceous bract, and flowers with a 3-lobed lip and 2 small, basal calli. The species is recognized by the sturdy, pendent, straggling plants, the new stem produced from a middle internode of the previous stem, sub-coriaceous, narrowly lanceolate leaves, the inflorescence subtended by two large, conduplicate, imbricated acuminate spathaceous bracts 2 to 4.8" [5 to 12 cm] long, and the lip is 3-lobed, cordate with roundish lateral lobes and a narrow triangular to rectangular mid-lobe. The new species has somewhat narrow leaves .24 to .36" [0.6 to 0.9 cm] wide, petals linear-oblanceolate-rhombic, slightly falcate, apex acute, and the lip which has lateral lobes semi-orbicular, oblique, forming a deeply cordate base, the mid-lobe sub-quadratespatulate, forming a pair of semi-orbicular lobules at the apex, the lobules .56 x .84" [1.4 x 2.1 mm], these slightly bent upwards, the sinus apiculate. Epidendrum prasinum has wider leaves up to .52" [1.3 cm] wide, petals narrowly elliptic, and the lip 3-lobed, lateral lobes obliquely ovate with the midlobe entire, narrowly triangular, obtuse." Hagsater etal 2020
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Icones Orchidacearum 17(2) Plate 1780 Hagsater & Jimenez 2020 TYPE Drawing/Photo fide;
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