Epidendrum miserrimum Rchb.f. 1855 GROUP Epidanthus

Inflorescence Photo by © Mikael Karlbom

Plant and Seed capsules Photo by Botanical Research Institute of Texas

Drawing

Drawing by © Jimenez, Hágsater & E.Santiago and The AMO Herbario Website

Common Name or Meaning The Insignificant Epidendrum

Flower Size .15" [4mm]

Found in Dominican Republic, Haiti, Leewards, Puerto Rico, Windwards, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Guyana, Surinam, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Brazil in montane pluvial forests at elevations of 560 to 2700 meters as a mini-miniature sized, warm to cold growing epiphyte or terrestrial with simple, cane-like stems enveloped completely by imbricate leaf-bearing sheaths and carrying 3 to 9, all along the stem, distichous, alternate, articulate, semiterete, generally ascending, linear to linear-lanceolate, subacute, low dorsal keel, becoming conduplicate below into the clasping base leaf that blooms in the summer through fall on a terminal, erect, racemose, distichous, secund, laxly 3 to 9 flowered, laterally compressed, two-winged inflorescence with in the apical half, 1 to 3, tubular bracts and cucullate, longer than the ovary, widely ovate-elliptic, apiculate, amplexicaul floral bracts and carrying, fragrant, non-resupinate, distichous, fleshy, simultaneously opening flowers.

Epidendrum miserrimum belongs to the GROUP Epidanthus , which is characterized by short small, somewhat scandent plants with very thin stems, very narrow, more or less fleshy leaves, with a small , narrowly triangular, acute ligule opposite the blade, an apical, distichous, usuaIy secund inflorescence, and 2 or 4 pollinia. The species is recognized by the small plants to 3.6" [9 cm] tall, somewhat flexuous stems with linear to linear-lanceolate, .24 to .96" [6 to 24 mm] long leaves, small, greenish to yellowish flowers, occasionally tinged reddish purple, the ecallose lip somewhat 3-lobed, with the lateral lobes hemi-elliptic, and the midlobe narrowly triangular, the ovary forming a small apical vesicle, and 4 pollinia. Epidendrum paranthicum Rchb.f. has somewhat larger plants 3.4 to 5.2" [8.5 to 13 cm] tall, with acicular-linear leaves, the dorsal sepal and petals somewhat reflexed, the 3-lobed lip with a semicircular, minutely apiculate callus, an uninflated ovary and 2 pollinia. Epidendrum selaginella Schltr. has wider, ovate to oblong-ovate leaves, the flowers aggregate at the end of the inflorescence, an entire, triangular-coronate lip, the sepals and ovary densely papillose and 4 pollinia." Hagsater etal 2007

Synonyms Epidendrum poaforme Schltr. 1923; Epidendrum poiforme Schltr. 1923; Jacquiniella miserrima (Rchb.f.) Stehlé 1937 publ. 1938; Microepidendrum miserrimum Brieger 2002

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum Plate 372 Dodson 1980; Native Ecuadorian Orchids Vol 2 Dodson 2002; *Bonplandia Rchb.f 1855; Symbolae Antillanae Vol VI Orchidaceae Urban 1909; Repert. Sp. Nov. Regni. Veg. Beih. 19: 43. Costa Rica Schlechter 1923 as E poaeforme; Repert. Sp. Nov. Regni. Veg. Beih. 19: 216. Costa Rica Schlechter 1923 as E poaeforme; The Genus Epidendrum Ames 1936; Flore Descriptive des Antilles Francaises H. Stehle 1939 as Jacquinella miserrima; Ceiba Vol 5 No 1 L O Williams 1956; Venezuelan Orchids Illustrated Vol 1 Dunsterville and Garay 1961 drawing fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 33 #8 1964; Flora De Venezuela Volumne XV Parte Foldats 1970 drawing fide; Flora of the Lesser Antilles Garay & Sweet 1974 drawing fide; Orchids of Venezuela, An Illustrated Field Guide Vol 1 Dunsterville & Garay 1979 drawing fide; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum Plate 737 Dodson 1982 see recognition section; The Orchids of Surinam Werkhoven 1986; Selbyana Vol 10 Orchids of Central America Hamer 1988 drawing good; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum Plate 1220 Dodson 1989 drawing fide; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum Plate 475 Dodson 1989 drawing fide; The Orchids of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands Ackerman 1992 drawing fide; An Orchid Flora Of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands Ackerman 1995 drawing fide; Orchids of Venezuela [An illustrated field guide] Vol. 1 Ramiro and Carnevali 2000 drawing fide; Native Ecuadorian Orchids Vol 2 Dodson 2001 drawing fide; Orchidaceae Antillanae Nir 2000; Icones Orchidacearum 4 Plate 419 Hagsater 2001 see recognition Section; Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana Vol 7 Steyermark, Berry, Yatskievych and Holst 2003 drawing fide; Manual de las Plantas de Costa Rica Vol 3 Hammel, Grayum, Herrera and Zamora 2003; Icones Orchidacearum 9 Part 6 Plate 959 Hagsater 2007 drawing fide; Orchids of the Department of Valle De Cauca Colombia Vol 2 Kolanowska, Hagsater etal. 2014 drawing fide; Orchid Flora of the Greater Antilles Ackerman 2014; Icones Orchidacearum 15 [2] Plate 1588 Hagsater & Sanchez 2016 see recognition section; Orquideas, Tesoro de Colombia Vol 2 Ortiz & Uribe 2017 drawing/photo fide; Orchid Genera and Species in Guatemala Archila, Szlachchetko, Chiron, Lipinska, Mystkowska and Bertolini 2018; Orquideas de Farallones de Cali Galindo-Tarazona, Haelterman, Zuluaga Trochez and Sebastian Moreno 2020 photo fide

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