Epidendrum montiscampanario Hágsater, Edquén & E.Santiago 2018 GROUP Ampelospathum
TYPE LCDP /TYPE Photo © by J. D. Edquén and The AMO Herbario Website
LATE 
Common Name The Cerro de Campanario Epidendrum [refers to its locality of discovery]
Flower Size .8" [2 cm]
Found in Peru on the ridge that runs along the eastern side of the Marañón river, near its northern end, near the Cerro de Campanario, at elevations around 2490 meters as a medium szied, cold growing epiphyte with cane-like, branching sub-apically when mature, terete at base, laterally compressed towards the apex, erect, straight; base covered by sheaths .084 to .2" [21 to 50 mm] long, tubular, non-foliar, scarious stems carrying 4 to 5 on the branches, aggregate towards the apical ¼ of the branch, ascendant, distichous, articulate, sub-coriaceous, unequal in size, progressively larger; tubular, minutely striated red leaf sheaths; blade 3elliptic, obtuse, margin entire, spreading, deep green, tinged reddish, mainly on the ventral surface leaves that blooms in the summer on a terminal, arising through a lanceolate, obtuse, conduplicate, reddish brown spathe, peduncle .6 to 1" [15 to 25 mm] long, laterally compressed, reddish green, rachis straight totally hidden by the flowers, 2.4 to 2.8" [6 to 7 cm] long overall, racemose, arching-nutant, sub-densely, successively several, eventually all open at once, 6 to 10 flowered inflorescence opening in succession from the base of the inflorescence towards the apex eventually all open at the same time; with triangular, acuminate, embracing floral bracts and carrying resupinate, fleshy, reddish brown flowers with the column and lip greenish yellow, lip tinged with reddish brown; fragrance not registered.
"Epidendrum montiscampanario belongs to the GROUP Ampelospathum , which is recognized 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 spathes, and flowers with an entire or 3-lobed lip and 2, divaricate calli. The new species is recognized by the wider leaves, 1.36 to 2.88" x .52 to 1.2" [3.4 to 7.2 x 1.4 to 3.0 cm], elliptic, the proportionately wider sepals, .6 to .68" x .28 to .3" [15 to 17 x 7.0 to 7.5 mm], and especially by the lip which is oblate in general outline, somewhat bilobed, base widely cuneate, apex widely emarginate and apiculate. It resembles Epidendrum ampelospathum Hágsater & Dodson, from the Cordillera Oriental in southern Ecuador, which has smaller flowers, sepals .42 to .56" x .252 to .3" [10.5 to 14 x 6.3 to 7.5 mm], short-oblong, sub-acute, minutely apiculate, petals widely ovate-sub-trullate, rounded, 5-veined, and the lateral lobes of the lip reniform, obliquely orbicular, rounded; flowers dry dark brown in herbarium specimens. Epidendrum ampelomelanoxeros Hágsater, E.Santiago & E.Parra, from central Colombia, has acuminate sepals, .64 to .72" x .22 to .24" [16 to 18 x 5.5 to 6.0 mm], acute petals, and by the dolabriform lateral lobes of the lip, the apical margin erose. The flower is reminiscent of the illustration in Pabst & Dungs (1975) fig. 725, identified as E. robustum Cogn. but closer to Epidendrum josianae M. Frey & V.P. Castro (2005), which is clearly different vegetatively, the stems being simple, tall, many leaved, with an inflorescence where the peduncle is covered by numerous imbricating bracts, and producing several densely flowered racemes over several years from the same peduncle, the flowers green sometimes tinged with purple or reddish brown, the column and base of the lip white." Hagsater etal 2018
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; *Icones Orchidacearum 16[2] Plate 1686 Hagsater & Sanchez 2018 LCDP/photo fide;
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