Epidendrum ornis Hágsater, Edquén, E.Santiago & E.Mondragón 2018 GROUP Arbuscula SUBGROUP Incomptum
TYPE LCDP /TYPE Photo © by J. D. Edquén P. and The AMO Herbario Website
Common Name The Bird-Like Lip Epidendrum
Flower Size .52" [1.3 cm]
Found in San Martin province of Peru in sparsely dispersed bushes in scloerophyllous wet cloud forest with abundant moss, on Clusia sp., at elevations around 1850 meters as a medium sized, cool groing epiphyte with new stems produced from the sub-apical internodes of the previous stem, cane-like, terete, thin, straight; the basal internodes covered by tubular, nonfoliar, minutely striated, scarious sheaths and carrying Leaves aggregate at the apex of each stem, distichous, sub-coriaceous, dark green, concolor; leaf sheaths infundibuliform when dry; blade narrowly ovate-lanceolate, apex acute, margin entire, spreading leaves that blooms in the summer, without a spathe, peduncle .52" [1.3 cm] long, laterally compressed, green, straight, without bracts, .8 to 1.2" [2 to 3 cm] long overall, racemose, flowering only once, densely simultaneously 7 to 12 flowered inflorescence with a green, much shorter than the ovary, narrowly triangular, acuminate, embracing floral bractsd and carrying , resupinate, ochre-yellow flowers with the apical margin of the column purple; fragrance not registered .
"Epidendrum ornis belongs to the GROUP Arbuscula SUBGROUP Incomptum which is characterized by the erect habit with successive lateral growths produced from the middle of the previous growth, few leaves aggregate towards the apex of the stems, roots generally only from the base of the primordial stem, and with fleshy yellowish to green to violet-green to black flowers with short ovaries, the lip entire to 3- lobed. The species is recognized by the bifoliate stems, leaves ovate-lanceolate, inflorescence with up to 12 ochre-yellow flowers, lateral sepals falcate, .52" [13 mm] long, petals linear-oblanceolate, narrow,.08" [2 mm] wide, and lip clearly 3-lobed, the lateral lobes spreading, obliquely dolabriform, mid-lobe oblong, apically expanded and bilobed. It is reminiscent of Epidendrum tamaënse from the Eastern Andes in Venezuela and neighboring Colombia*, which has 2 to 4 elliptic leaves, up to 17, green to olive-green flowers with purple veins on the lip, lateral sepals oblique, .6 to .84" [15 to 21 mm] long, petals narrowly obtrullate, .28 to .32" [7.0 to 7.8 mm] wide, and the lateral lobes of the lip orbicular. Epidendrum macuchiense Hágsater & E.Santiago, from the western slope of the Andes in Ecuador has 4 lanceolate leaves, green flowers, lateral sepals .4" [10 mm] long, oblique, petals linear-oblanceolate, .04" [1 mm] wide, lip with transversely elliptic to sub-orbicular lateral lobes, and the mid-lobe sub-quadrate-cuneate. Epidendrum boekei Hágsater, from the estern Andes in southern Peru, has narrowly elliptic leaves, 5 to 7, green to greenish yellow flowers, lateral sepals oblique, .48" [12 mm] long, petals oblanceolate, .12 to .24" [3 to 6 mm] wide, and the lateral lobes of the lip obovate, mid-lobe sub-quadrate." Hagsater etal 2018
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; *Icones Orchidacearum 16[2] Plate 1688 Hagsater & Sanchez 2018 LCDP/photo fide;
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