Epidendrum pachyphylloides Hágsater & E.Santiago 2004 GROUP Andean SUBGROUP Cuniculatum

TYPE Drawing by © Lopez and The AMO Herbaria Website

LATE

Common Name The E pachyphyllum-Like Epidendrum

Flower Size .6” [1.5 cm]

Found in southern Colombia in the high altitude scrub zone at elevations around 3300 to 3600 meters as a mini-miniature sized, cold growing, caespitose epiphyte with cane-like, very thin, erect, slightly flexuous, branching, branches in turn branching stems carrying all along the stem, conduplicate, coriaceous, narrowly lanceolate, subacute, apical margin slightly irregular, dorsal keel leaves that blooms in the late spring on an erect, terminal, short, racemose, arching-nutant, peduncle very short, terete, thin, rachis terete, thin, simultaneously 3 to 4 flowered inflorescence with shorter than the ovary, ovate, acute floral bracts and carrying resupinate, yellow flowers.

"Epidendrum pachyphylloides belongs to the GROUP Andean SUBGROUP Cuniculatum , characterized by the monopodial, cane-like stems wlth subapical branching, appressed leaf-sheaths, acute leaves, the small flowers and the 3-lobed lip. The species is recognized by the very small plants, up to 2.4" [6 cm] tall, the short, fleshy, conduplicate, lanceolate leaves, and the nodding inflorescence with small, yellow flowers, the sepals 1,78 to 1.94" [4.3-4.9 mm] long, the oblanceolate petals with the margin very erose, and the 3-lobed lip, with the lateral lobes rectangular-dolabriform and the midlobe semi-orbicular. It is sympatric and somewhat similar to the much larger Epidendrum angustissimum which has long and very narrow leaves, 1.2 to 4" x .4 to .16" [30 to 100 x 1 to 4 mm] lip with semi-orbicular lateral lobes and serrulate margins, and sepals .2 to .48" [5.0 to 6.7 mm] long. Epidendrum tenuicaule Lindl. has clearly wider leaves .17 to .4" [3.5 to 10 mm wide], the small, arching inflorescence with with greenish yellow, simultaneous flowers, the laterallobes of the lip dolabriform. Epidendrum cuniculatum Schltr. has a deep nectary, a large clinandrium with the margin sinuous, and very short, reniform, lateral lobes of the lip, with a sinuous margins." Hagsater etal 2017

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Icones Orchidacearum 7 Plate 774 Hagsater 2004 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 12 Plate 1273 Hagsater 2009 see recognition section; Orquideas, Tesoro de Colombia Vol 2 Ortiz & Uribe 2017 drawing fide;

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