Epidendrum motozintlense Hágsater & L.Sánchez 2008 GROUP Anceps SUBGROUP Polyanthum

TYPE Drawing by © Jimenez and The AMO Herbaria Website

LATE LATER

Common Name The Motozintla Epidendrum [An Area of southern Chiapas]

Flower Size .4” [1 cm]

Found in Chiapas state of Mexico near the Guatemalan border, in montane broadleaf forests at elevations of 1400 to 2300 meters as a medium sized, cool to cold growing epiphyte with simple, cane-like, laterally compressed, straight stems carrying 7 to 13, distichous, all along the apical 2/3’s of the stem, narrowly linear-elliptic, acuminate, mucronate, slightly carinate, subcoriaceous, margin entire leaves that blooms in the late summer through later spring on a terminal, pluriracemose, forming new racemes in succession from the lower nodes of the peduncle, peduncle somewhat elongate, with 2 to 4, imbricating, tubular, oblong-triangular, acute to acuminate bracts, rachis terete, smooth, simultaneously 15 to 45 flowered inflorescence with mostly shorter than the ovary, basal ones as long as the ovary, progressively shorter above, ovate-triangular, acute floral bracts and carrying resupinate, green, weakly fragrant flowers with the column and lip occasionally greenish white.

"Epidendrum motozintlensis belongs to the GROUP Anceps , which is recognized by the simple stems, generally elongate, compound racemose inflorescence producing new successive racemes with time, fleshy flowers, filiform to narrowly spatulate petals, and the SUBGROUP Polyanthum which has elongate, not subcorymbose racemes. The species is recognized by the laterally compressed stems, verrucose ovary, green flowers, the column and lip occasionally greenish white, the sepals and petals glabrous, .272 to .312" [6.8 to 7.8 mm] long, petals single veined, the 3-lobed lip with entire, suborbicular to elliptic lateral lobes, the midlobe short, transversely rectangular with an apical sinus, bicallose, the calli prominent, fleshy, and the disc with a prominent central keel. Epidendrum clowesii Bateman ex Lindl. has the petals linear to narrowly spatulate, midlobe of the lip oblong, rectangular, apically slit to form a pair of lobes, the callus prolonged into two keels, the flowers olive green, with the sepals and petals occasionally tinged brown and the lip greenish white. Epidendrum chlorops Rchb.f. has terete to somewhat laterally compressed stems, larger flowers, sepals and petals .4 to .66" [10 to 15.5 mm long, the petals narrowly spatulate, a smooth ovary, and the lateral lobes of the lip with evidently thickened, short veins near the base, and the midlobe oblong-rectangular, slit and forming a pair of apical lobes, the calli prolonguend into two keels. Epidendrum polyanthum Lindl., known from southern Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras has terete stems, .32 to .4" [8 to 10 mm] long sepals, the flowers orange-yellow, and the lateral lobes of the lip semiovate, with the midlobe oblong-quadrate and the apex emarginate." Hagsater etal 2008

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Icones Orchidacearum 11 Plate 1146 Hagsater & Sanchez 2008 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 12 Plate 1209 Hagsater 2009 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 13 Plate 1316 Hagsater & Santiago 2010 See recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 13 Plate 1321 Hagsater & Santiago 2010 See recognition section; Orchid Genera and Species in Guatemala Archila, Szlachchetko, Chiron, Lipinska, Mystkowska and Bertolini 2018

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