Epidendrum pachychilum Kraenzl. 1905 GROUP Pachychilum

Photo By © Al Toth

Drawing

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

Partshade Cold LATEFall to MID Spring

Common Name The Thick Lipped Epidendrum

Flower Size .4" [1 cm]

Found in Ecuador and Peru in wet montane cloud forests in deep sphagnum moss at elevations of 2150 to 3500 meters as a medium sized, cold growing epiphyte or terrestrial with erect, cane-like, sparsely branching, ascending, terete, thin, leafy towards the apex stems carrying 4 to 8, erect, subparallel to the stem, ovate-lanceolate, acute, medium green with purple, serrate towards the apex margins, subcoriaceous leaves with striate, rugulose, red-purple sheaths that blooms in the late fall through mid spring on an erect, peduncle to .6" [1.5 cm] long, longer than the leaf, 2" [5 cm] long overall, densely, simultaneously, 7 to 8 flowered inflorescence subtended by a lanceolate, acute bract and lanceolate, acute, concave, half the length of the ovary floral bract and carrying non-resupinate, fleshy, rigid flowers.

"Epidendrum pachychilum belongs to the GROUP Pachychilum, which is characterized by the monopodial plants with sub-apical branching, rugose leaf sheaths, by the relatively small leaves, parallel to the stem, the short, racemose, erect inflorescence, brightly colored flowers, yellow to orange to reddish pink, with an entire, conduplicate, lip embracing the column, without any pubescence in front of the stigmatic cavity nor on the lip. The species is recognized by the narrowly lanceolate leaves, erect, sub-parallel to the stem, inflorescences erect about 2' [5 cm] long, flowers sulfur-yellow, sepals .44" [11 mm] long, petals oblanceolate, the margin crenulate, lip widely triangular, with the apex obtuse, the column with an uncinate tooth on each side of the anther; anther rostrate. Epidendrum incapachychilum Hágsater & E.Santiago is vegetatively very similar, but the flowers are reddish orange, sepals.32 to .38" [8 to 9.4 mm] long, petals linear-oblanceolate, the margin entire, lip widely hemi-orbicular to widely triangular when spread, anther conical, not apically rostrate. Epidendrum erythropachychilum Hágsater & E.Santiago has inflorescences with up to 15, reddish pink flowers, sepals .248 to .264" [6.2 to 6.6 mm] long, the lip widely triangular, apex rounded, the column arching upwards, the apex blunt, without teeth, anther ovoid, apex rounded." Hagsater etal 2015

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI Orchids of Peru Vol 2 Fieldiana Schweinfurth 1959; Native Ecuadorian Orchids Vol 2 Dodson 2001 photo not; Icones Orchidaceraum Peruviarum Plate 645 Bennett & Christenson 2001 drawing fide; Machu Picchu Orchids Christenson 2003 photo fide; Icones Orchidacearum 15 [1] Plate 1522 Hagsater & Sanchez 2015 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 15 [1] Plate 1528 Hagsater & Sanchez 2015 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 15 [1] 1549 Hagsater & Santiago 2015 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 15 [2] Plate 1522a Hagsater & Sanchez 2016 see recognition section;

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