Epidendrum ruizianum Steud. 1840
Photo courtesy of Dale Borders, plant grown by Patricia Harding.
Photo by Patricia Harding.
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Common Name Ruiz's Epidendrum [Spanish Botanist 1700's]
Flower Size 3/4" [2 cm]
Found in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia on steep, rocky slopes in full sunlight at elevations of 1200 to 3100 meters as a robust, large sized, cool growing terrestrial or epiphyte, with erect, cane-like leafy stems carrying oblong, emarginate, coriaceous, graduated in size from the base leaves that blooms from summer through spring on a terminal, nodding, 6" [15 cm] long, subtended by many conspicuous imbricate, lanceolate, acute, compressed bracts that form a compound spathe, congested, successively opening, many flowered paniculate inflorescence arising on mature canes and has fragrant flowers.
Not to be confused with Epi nutans Sw. 1788 which is found only in Jamaica, Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil.
"Epidendrum nutans Sw., endemic to Jamaica, has spathe, wider petals, a clearly 3-lobed lip with the mid-lobe much narrower than the width between the lateral lobes, emarginate and forming a pair of small triangular lobes and thus belongs to the Viridipurpureum subgroup of the Paniculatum group. Epidendrum lindbergii Rchb.f. though confused with E densiflorum has a spathe and wider, oblanceolate-spatulate petals, , .4 x .12" [10 x 3 mm], .4" [10 mm] long sepals, an entire lip, reniform with the base deeply cordate, and the apex widely emarginate and a pair of short incisions on the sides so as to suggest an incipient, short midlobe. Epidendrum dipus Lindl. has a pair of very prominent spathes at the base of the inflorescence, which paniculate with fewer flowers, petals narrowly spatulate, lip clearly 3-lobed with the mid-lobe slightly narrower than the width between the lateral lobes." Adapted from E densiflorum Icones Plate 1423 Hagsater etal
Synonyms Epidendrum nutans var. tridentatum Fawc. & Rendle 1911; Epidendrum spathaceum Lindl. 1841
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI Symbolae Antillanae Vol VI Orchidaceae Urban 1909 as Epidendrum tridentatum; Symbolae Antillanae Vol VI Orchidaceae Urban 1909; Die Orchideen Schlechter 1915; Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 6: 71 Schlechter 1919; The Genus Epidendrum Ames 1936; Orchids of Peru Vol 2 Fieldiana Schweinfurth 1959; Flora of the Lesser Antilles Garay & Sweet 1974 appendix; Manual Of Orchids Stewart 1995; Botanica's Orchids Laurel Glen 2002 photo not =?; Orchid Digest Vol 78 #2 2014 as Encyclia nutans photo fide; Icones Orchidacearum 14 Plate 1423 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 see recognition section; Orchid Flora of the Greater Antilles Ackerman 2014; Orchid Digest Vol 79 #3 2015 photo fide;
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