Epidendrum microdiothoneum Hágsater & Dodson 2001 GROUP Diothonea SUBGROUP Diothonea
Photo by Alexander Hirtz
Photo by The Storczyki Website
Photo by Ecuagenera and their Ecuador Orchid Website
LATE
Common Name or Meaning The Tiny Diothoneum Epidendrum
Flower Size .6" [1.5 cm]
Found in Ecuador on the western slopes of the Andes at elevations of 1900 to 2200 meters as a small to large sized, cool to cold growing epiphyte or terrestrial with terete, branching, cane-like stems carrying numerous, towards the apex of the terminal stem, linear-lanceolate, unequally bilobed apically, basally clasping leaves that blooms in the late summer and fall on a terminal, occuring only once, racemose, arching, glomerulose, short, 10 to 11 flowered inflorescence arising on a mature stem and carrying simultaneously opening, resupinate, very fragrant [pears] flowers.
"Epidendrum microdiothoneum belongs to the GROUP Diothonea SUBGROUP Diothonea characterized by the branching plants linear-lanceolate to oblong leaves the apex bilobed, racemose, arching-nutant inflorescence, membranaceous, rarely fleshy flowers, the entire to 3-lobed, ecallose lip with the margin erose and with or without 1 to 10 thin, smooth to erose keels, the column completely free to obliquely united to the lip, the anther reniform. The species is recognized by the branching habit, the narrow bilobed leaves, the glomerulose intlorescence, and the small flowers with sepals .24 to .28" [6 to 7 mm] long, with a prominently arching, incurved column obliquely united to the lip which is 4-lobed and 4-carinate. Epidendrum gratissimum also has an arched column, but it is slightly longer .16" [4 mm], sepals are about twice as long .44 [11 mm], and lip is cuneate at base and suborbicular. The species has been confused with E. scabrum Ruiz & Pavón, which has sepals .14 to .2" [3.5 to 5 mm] long, leaves .24 to .6" x .12 to .14" [6 to 15 x 3.0 to 3.5 mm], and a more elongate rachis .4 to .6" [10 to 15 mm] long, the column straight and belongs to GROUP Andean SUBGROUP Fritzianum." Hagsater etal 2001
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Icones Orchidacearum 4 Plate 459 Hagsater 2001 drawing ok; Native Ecuadorian Orchids Vol 2 Dodson 2001 photo fide; Icones Orchidacearum 7 Plate 702 Hagsater and Sanchez 2004 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 7 Plate 706 Hagsater 2004 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 7 Plate 732 Hagsater 2004 see recognition section; Orquideologia Vol 24 #1 2005 photo fide; Icones Orchidacearum 8 Plate 847 Hagsater 2006 see recognition section;
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