Epidendrum noackii Cogn 1906 GROUP Pseudepidendrum SUBGROUP Densiflorum
Photos by © Dalton Holland Baptista/J A Radins and SUBGROUP Densiflorum Herbario AMO Website
Drawing by © Jimenez, Hágsater & E.Santiago and The AMO Herbario Website
Common Name Noack's Epidendrum [German Orchid Collector in Brazil late 1800's - early 1900's]
Flower Size .8" [2 cm]
Found in Rio de Janiero and Rio Grande do Sul states of Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina at elevations of 250 to 1000 meters as a medium sized, hot to warm growing epiphyte with simple, canelike, terete, thin, erect, straight stems with the basal portion covered by tubular, non-foliar sheaths and carrying 8 to 12, distichous, articulate, straight to slightly arching, dorsal surface green, grayish white ventrally, membranaceous, narrowly elliptic-lanceolate, acuminate, tinged somewhat red-brown, margin entire, spreading leaves that blooms in the summer and fall on a terminal, racemose to paniculate, flowering only once, erect, peduncle 1.76" [4.4 cm] long, terete, thin, straight, provided with two tubular, conduplicate, acute bracts, 2.8 to 3.2" [7 to 8 cm] long, laxly, successively 7 flowered inflorecscence with much shorter than the ovary, narrowly triangular, acuminate, amplexicaul floral bracts.
"Epidendrum noackii belongs to the GROUP Pseudepidendrum which is characterized by caespitose plants, cane-like stems, acute to acuminate leaves, usually an apical inflorescence, without any spathaceous bract, though it may have several bracts, the mostly filiform petals and the lip usually 3-lobed with 3 parallel fleshy keels, the apical lobe often bifurcate, the “bird-wing” type pollinia, at least the inner pair, and SUBGROUP Densiflorum where the short-pedunculate inflorescence is paniculate, flowering only once, flowers are green, the apex of the column and disc of the lip creamy-white, the calli sometimes tinged purple, the petals are linear-oblong to linear-oblanceolate, never filiform, and the pollinia unequal in shape, only the inner pair “birdwing” like. The species is recognized by the short plants, to 14 to 20" [35 to 50 cm] tall, thin stems, narrow leaves .6 to .88" [1.5 to 2.2 cm] wide, the inflorescence somewhat shorter to longer than the apical leaf, linear petals, the lip wider between the lateral lobes than between the lobes of the mid-lobe, clearly 3-lobed, the lateral lobes obliquely dolabriform; the mid-lob bifid, forming a pair of oblong, short, divergent lobes separated by a sinus with a triangular mucro. Epidendrum brachythyrsus Kraenzl. has taller, plants, to 30" [75 cm] tall, the inflorescence much shorter than the apical leaf, wider leaves .8 to 1.48" [2 to 3.7 cm] wide, petals linear-oblong, and the lip as wide between the lateral lobes as between the lobes of the mid-lobe, the lateral lobes elliptic-dolabriform, narrowly separated from the midlobe. Epidendrum hassleri Cogn. is sympatric with this species around Iguazú and differs in the taller, more robust stems, to 48" [120 cm] tall, generally paniculate inflorescence, 6 to 7.2" [15 to 18 cm] long, petals linear-oblanceolate, sepals sub-equal, oblanceolate, the lateral sepals slightly wider than the dorsal; lateral lobes of the lip dolabriform with the distal margin forming an acute angle. Epidendrum densiflorum Hook. is 80" [200 cm] tall, thicker stems, elliptic leaves 1.2 to 2" [3 to 5 cm] wide, densely, many-flowered inflorescences, the lip slightly 3-lobed, with the lateral lobes sub-quadrate-dolabriform and the mid-lobe very short, bifid, forming a pair of obliquely triangular lobes. Epidendrum andres-johnsonii Hágsater & E.Santiago also from the Dept. of Misiones, Argentina, has narrowly elliptic leaves .52 to 1.16" [1.3 to 2.9 cm] wide, a lax inflorescence with up to 50 flowers, and the lip is somewhat 3-lobed, orbicular overall, slightly convex in natural position. The following species, all belonging to the groupviridipurpureum.htm and have a pair of spathes at the base of the inflorescence, and have wider petals, and the pollinia laterally compressed but not bird-wing type: Epidendrum dipus Lindl. has a clearly paniculate, and many-flowered inflorescence, the petals .8 to 1" [2.0 to 2.5 mm] wide, narrowly spatulate, with the apex rounded. Epidendrum nutans Sw., endemic to Jamaica, petals are oblanceolate, acute, and the narrow mid-lobe of the lip emarginate, not mucronate, the formed by a pair of widely triangular, slightly divaricate lobes. Epidendrum lindbergi Rchb.f. has more robust stems, an entire, reniform lip, with wider, narrowly oblanceolate, spatulate, obtuse petals, .8 to 1.28" [2.0 to 3.2 mm] wide" Hagsater etal 2013
Synonyms
ReferencesW3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 35: 71 Schlechter 1925; Icones Orchidacearum 14 Plate 1408 Hagsater & Santiago 2013 See recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 14 Plate 1413 Hagsater & Santiago 2013 See recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 14 Plate 1423 Hagsater & Santiago 2013 See recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 14 Plate 1436 Hagsater & Santiago 2013 See recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 14 Plate 1450 Hagsater & Sanchez 2013 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 14 Plate 1462 Hagsater & Sanchez 2013 drawing fide
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