Epidendrum morrisii Hágsater & L.Cerv. 2001 GROUP Ramosum SUBGROUP Paranense

TYPE Drawing by © Cervantes and The AMO Herbaria Website

Common Name Morris’s Epidendrum [English creator of the Jamaican Herbarium and collector of the type species 1800’s]

Flower Size 1.2” [3 cm]

Found in Jamaica at elevations of 900 to 1500 meters as a medium sized, warm to cool growing hanging epiphyte with branching, main stem thicker than the secondary, short tertiary, laterally compressed stems carrying 5 to 7 on the secondary, and tertiary stems, unequal, apically largest, narrowly lanceolate, bilobed, coriaceous leaves that blooms in the late fall and early winter on a terminal, sessile, racemose, distichous, bracts separate, not imbricate, simultaneously 5 to 6 flowered inflorescence with somewhat imbricate, conduplicate, longer than the ovary floral bracts and carrying white flowers with the lip always facing the rachis.

"Epidendrum morrisii belongs to the GROUP Ramosum SUBGROUP Paranense, characterized by the pendent, branching plants with long coriaceous leaves and distichous inflorescence, oblong to oblong-lanceolate leaves. The species can be recognized by its laterally compressed stems, large leaves 2 to 76" [5 to 19 cm] long, lax-flowered inflorescence, sepals .4 to .64" [10 to 16 mm] long, petals .56 to .6" [14 to 15 mm] long, cordiform lip, long column, .24" [6 mm] long, and reduced clinandrium. Epidendrum mora-retanae Hágsater, from Nicaragua to Panama, has terete stems, smaller flowers, the sepals .4 to .48" [10 to 12 mm] long, petals .4 to .44" [10 to 11 mm] long and the clinandrium as long as the column proper. Epidendrum bahorucense Hágsater & L. Cerv., from the island of Hispaniola, has terete stems, smaller and narrower leaves, smaller flowers, triangular lip, smaller column, .16" [4 mm] long.

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Icones Orchidacearum 4 Plate 415 Hagsater 2001 see recognition section; * Icones Orchidacearum 4 Plate 462 Hagsater & Cervantes 2001 drawing fide;

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------