Epidendrum orthodontum Hágsater & L.Sánchez 1999 GROUP Ramosum SUBGROUP Rugosum

TYPE Drawing by © Jimenez, Hágsater & E.Santiago and The AMO Herbario Website

Part Shade Cool Cold LATE Winter EARLYSpring

Common Name The Erect Tooth Epidendrum [refers to the column apex]

Flower Size .8" [2 cm]

Found in westernmost Panama in humid forests at elevations of 1700 to 2300 meters as a medium to large sized, cool to cold growing epiphyte with branching, flexuous, the main terete, laterally compressed stems carrying numerous, all along the stem, coriaceous, articulate, narrowly elliptic to lanceolate, bilobed, rugose leaves that blooms in late winter and early spring on a terminal, on the main stem and branches, racemose, peduncle ancipitous, with one triangular bract, rachis filiform, 2 to 5 flowered inflorescence with longer than the ovary, triangular, acuminate floral bracts and carrying alternate, non-resupinate, yellowish green to greenish white flowers.

"Epidendrum orthodontum is part of GROUP Ramosum which is characterized by the monopodial, branching stems, the spike-like, distichous inflorescence, and the single callus, and the SUBGROUP Rugosum which has a branching habit with few-flowered inflorescences from short, secondary stems and the leaf-sheaths rugose. The species is recognized by its branching habit, inflorescence with 2 to 5 flowers, narrowly lanceolate sepals .4 to .48" [10 to 12 mm] long, linear-lanceolate petals, .36 to .4" [9 to 10 mm] long, 3-lobed lip, .32 to .36" [8 to 9 mm] long, lateral lobes semiorbicular, midlobe triangular, acuminate, without keels on the disc, column straight with an erect tooth at the apex (at 90°), and a pair of subquadrate wings on each side. It is similar to E. nutantirhachis but this species has larger plants, leaves up to 2.8 x .6" [7 x 1.5 cm], floral bracts ovate, about equaling the pedicellate ovary, smaller f1owers, ovate to ovate-lanceolate sepals, .32 to .36" [8 to 9 mm] long, linear-lanceolate petals, .24 to .32" [6 to 8 mm] long, lip obscurely 3-lobed, ovate-triangular or triangular-cordate, .16 to .32" [4 to 8 mm] long, with prominent keels on the disc." Hagsater etal 1999

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Icones Orchidacearum 3 Plate 361 Hagsater & Sanchez 1999 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum Vol 8 Plate 841 Hagsater & Sanchez 2006 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 9 Plate 966 Hagsater 2007 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 11 Plate 1143 Hagsater 2008 see recognition section;

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