Epidendrum oscar-perezii Hágsater, E.Parra & E.Santiago 2013 GROUP Andean SUBGROUP Soratae

TYPE Drawing by © Parra and The AMO Herbaria Website

Common Name Oscar Perez’s Epidendrum [Colombian Orchid Enthusiast current]

Flower Size .2” [.5 cm]

Found in Colombia on the upper eastern slope of the Cordillera Oriental in remnants of cloud forests at elevations around 2500 meters as a small sized, cold growing pendsent epiphyte with branching, new stems arise from the subapical node of the previus stem, main stem taller, branches unequal, cane-like, terete, thin stems carrying7 on the main stem, 2 to 7 on the lateral branches, all along the branch, but if only 2 aggregate towards the apex, alternate, articulate, coriaceous, dorsal surface strongly rugose, dark green, ventral surface smooth, tinged with intense purpleovate-to narrowly, acute, minutely apiculate, margin entire leaves that blooms in the spring on a terminal, without a spathe, racemose, occuring only once, .8” [2 cm] long, successively 1 to 2, 3 to 4 flowered inflorescence with shorter than the ovary, triangular-lanceolate, acuminate, amplexicaul floral bracts and carrying resupinate, greenish white flowers with the column green and the sepals and petals tinged purple.

"Epidendrum oscar-perezii belongs to the GROUP Andean SUBGROUP Soratae which is characterized by the branching habit starting on a monopodial, primary stem, infundibuliform, rugose leaf-sheaths, lanceolate, aristate, acute leaves, racemose subcapitate inflorescence on a short, thin peduncle, and the bicallose lip. The species is recognized by the pendent plants, ovate to narrowly ovate, bicolor leaves, the dorsal surface green and rugose, the ventral surface smooth and purple, flowers opening in succession, greenish white, somewhat tinged with purple, dorsal sepal inflexed nearly parallel to the column, lateral sepals strongly reflexed, margin of the orbicular lip entire, column geniculate with respect to the ovary and forming a 135° angle. Epidendrum retrosepalum Hágsater, Ric.Fernández & E.Santiago, endemic to Peru is florally very similar, but the leaves are concolor, both surfaces smooth and shiny, flowers simlutaneous, greenish yellow, the lateral sepals are ovate-triangular, with a prominent awn, the lip reniform, slightly apiculate and somewhat 3-lobed, margin crenulate. Epidendrum soratae Rchb.f. has lanceolate leaves, 8 to 12 simultaneous greenish-yellow flowers, partly spreading sepals, the reniform lip is somewhat 3-lobed. Epidendrum leonorae Hágsater, O.Pérez & E.Santiago has linear-lanceolate concolor leaves, 2 somewhat smaller flowers with sepals .22" [5.5. mm] long, and the reniform lip has an erose margin." Hagsater etal 2013

Synonyms

ReferencesW3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Icones Orchidacearum 14 Plate 1465 Hágsater, E.Parra & Santiago 2013 drawing fide; Orquideas, Tesoro de Colombia Vol 2 Ortiz & Uribe 2017 photo fide;

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