Epidendrum oblongialpicola Hágsater & Dodson 2001 GROUP Alpicolum

TYPE Drawing by © Lopez and The AMO Herbaria Website

Common Name The Oblong Leaved E. alpicolum Epidendrum

Flower Size .8” [2 cm]

Found in northern Carchi province of Ecuador in cloud forests at elevations around 3400 meters as a medium sized, cold growing, caespitose epiphyte with simple, cane-like, laterally compressed, slightly flexuous stems carrying 6, all along the stem, oblong, rounded to unequally bilobed, coriaceous, margin entire leaves that blooms in the winter on a terminal, arising through a conduplicate, semi-ovate, obtuse, short spathe, sessile, arching, racemose, 2” [5 cm] long, simultaneously 45 flowered inflorescence with 2/3’s the length of the ovary, triangular, long-acuminate floral bracts and carrying nonresupinate, light orange flowers with a white column.

"Epidendrum oblongialpicolum belongs to the GROUP Alpicolum characterized by the simple, cane-like stems, narrowly elliptic acute leaves, long, narrow, 1 to 2 spathaceous bracts giving rise to a foxtail-like inflorescence with small flowers with a lip that is fleshy, prominently midveined when dry, a triangular midlobe and large orbicular lateral lobes that are larger in surface area than the midlobe, also with a prominent, emarginate, entire clinandrum. The species is recognized by the caespitose habit, very wide, ancipitose stem, wide, oblong leaves with a rounded to bilobed apex, and the compact, racemose inflorescence with a short peduncle, sepals .32 to .4" [8 to 10 mm] long, the petals oblanceolate, .32" [0.8 mm] wide and single veined, the lateral lobes irregularly lobed and the midlobe lanceolate, about 3 times longer than wide. Epidendrum popayanense F. Lehm. & Kraenzl. has two leaves 4.8 to 7.2" x .6 to 1" [120 to 180 x 15 to 25 mm], sepals .44" [11 mm] long, lateral lobes large, flowers olivaceous green with lip pale dirty yellow. Epidendrum alpicolum has larger flowers, sepals ca. .72" [18 mm] long, leaves long, lanceolate, and midlobe of lip lanceolate-rhomboid." Hagsater etal 2001

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI Icones Orchidacearum 4 Plate 411 Hagsater 2001 see recognition section; * Icones Orchidacearum 4 Plate 465 Hagsater & Dodson 2001 drawing fide;

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