Epidendrum melanoxeros Hágsater & Dodson 1999 GROUP Ampelospathum

TYPE Drawing by © Jimenez and The AMO Herbaria Website

LATER

Common Name The Black Dried Epidendrum [refers to the black drying leaves and flowers of herbarium specimens that easily separates this species from the others in the group]

Flower Size .6” [1.5 cm]

Found in central Colombia to central Ecuador at elevations of 2950 to 3200 meters as large to giant sized, cold growing terrestrial or epiphyte with cane-like, erect, laterally compressed stems carrying numerous, equidistant, most likely only in the apical half of the stem, narrowly elliptic, rounded, margin erose-fleshy leaves that blooms in the later spring through fall on a terminal, arising through 1 to 2, narrow, obtuse, conduplicate spathe enveloping all of the peduncle, on a mature stem, flowering only once, racemose, arcuate-nutant, peduncle 1.6 to 3.2” [4 to 8 cm] long, simultaneously about 20 flowered inflorescence with much shorter than the ovary, linear-lanceolate, acute floral bracts and carrying resupinate, yellow-green flowers that turn black in herbarium specimens.

"Epidendrum melanoxeros is part of 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 bracts, and flowers with a 3-lobed lip and 2 small, basal calli The species forms large caespitose plants with leaves distributed throughout, apical, nutant, racemose inflorescence with a narrow, conduplicate spathe, its apex obtuse, blunt, lip 3-lobed, sepals 5-veined, petals single veined, and greenish yellow flowers which dry black when pressed. It is closely related to E. klotzscheanum which has lanceolate, acute leaves, 2 to 3 spathes which are much larger and very acute, sepals 7-veined, petals 5-veined, and the midlobe of the lip truncate and fleshy carinate; flowers dry brown when pressed. Epidendrum ampliracemum C. Schweinf. although having similar flowers, has few large, wide, rounded leaves, and an erect raceme with only a very small spathe at the base." Hagsater etal 1999

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Icones Orchidacearum 3 Plate 354 Hagsater & Dodson 1999 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 13 Plate 1343 Hagsater & Dodson 2010 See Recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 14 Plate 1405 Hagsater & Santiago 2013 See recognition section; Orquideas, Tesoro de Colombia Vol 2 Ortiz & Uribe 2017; Icones Orchidacearum 18(1) plate 1817 2020 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 18(1) plate 1823 2020 see recogniton section

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