Epidendrum panamense Schltr. 1913 GROUP Alberti SUBGROUP Allenii
TYPE Drawing by © Jimenez and The AMO Herbaria Website
Common Name The Panamanian Epidendrum
Flower Size .6” [1.5 cm]
Found in Panama and Choco department of Colombia at elevations of 650 to 1500 meters as a mini-miniature to small sized, warm to cool growing epiphyte with simple, cane-like, laterally compressed, ancipitous, erect, straight stems carrying 3 to 5, all along the stem, alternate, articulate, suberect, generally only the apical 2 to 3 persistent, basal ones shorter, lanceolate, acuminate, long carinate at the base, margin entire leaves that blooms at most any time of the year on a terminal, arising through a single, lanceolate, acute to short acuminate, basally tubular, conduplicate above, ancipitous spathe, racmose at first then pluriracemose, peduncle elongate, laterally compressed, ancipitous, two winged, the wings prominent towards the base, progressively narrower, rachis short, totally hidden within the floral bracts successively single, 4 to 8 flowered inflorescence with much shorter than the ovary, narrowly elliptic, obtuse, conduplicate, imbricating, persistent even after blooming floral bracts and carrying resupinate, greenish white to pinkish white somewhat tinged with brown flowers.
"Epidendrum panamense belongs to the GROUP Alberti which is characterized by the sympodial habit,
laterally compressed to ancipitose or somewhat fusiform-thickened stems, the apical or apical and lateral racemose,
distichous inflorescence more or less with imbricating bracts on the peduncle, producing one flower at a time, and the SUBGROUP Allenii which is characterized by the stems with numerous leaves, the apical, rarely lateral inflorescence,
peduncle elongate, bare, non-bract bearing, two-winged, the rachis short, covered by rounded, usually imbricating, bracts. The species is recognized by the plants up to 8.4" [21 cm] tall, lanceolate leaves .32 to .8" [0.8 to 2 cm] wide, the inflorescence never longer than the apical leaf and greenish to pink-white flowers,
sepals .32 to .48" [8 to 12 mm] long, tne lip widely ovate-cordiform,
sepals, .14 to .2" x .14 to .228" [3.5 to 5 x 3.5. to 5.7 mm]. Epidendrum transversellipticum
Hagsater has smaller plants, up to 6.4" [16 cm] tall, with
narrowly elliptic leaves .2 to .8" [.5 to 2 cm] wide, the inflorescence is
longer than the apical leaf, the floral bracts very short to .12" [3mm] long, green flowers, sepals .24 to .3" [6 to 7.5 mm] long, the lip
transversely elliptic, .1 x .14" [2.5 x 4 mm]. Epidendrum allenii L.O.Williams has larger plants, 8 to 15.2" [20 to 38 cm] tall, elliptic to
lanceolate leaves .48 to 1.04" [1.2 to 2.6 cm] wide, the inflorescence longer than the apical leaf pale pink to greenish flowers with the lip white, subreniform, wide, .4 to .48 x .48 to .6" [10 to 12 x 12 to 15 mm].
Epidendrum maduroi Hágsater & Carda-Cruz has larger,
more robust, plants with elliptic-lanceolate leaves, .52 to .92" x .72 to 1.16" [1.3 to 2.3 x
1.8 to 2.9 cm], sepals and petals greenish bronze with an
apple-green subreniform lip." Hagsater etal 2007
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
The Orchids of Panama L.O. Williams & P Allen 1946; The Genus Epidendrum Ames 1936; Ceiba Vol 5 No 1 L O Williams 1956;
Icones Orchidacearum 4 Plate 464 Hagsater 2001 see recognition section;
Icones Orchidacearum 4 plate 492 Hagsater & Sanchez 2001 see recognition section;
Icones Orchidacearum 4 plate 493 Hagsater & Sanchez 2001 see recognition section;
Icones Orchidacearum Vol 9 Plate 901 Hagsater & Sanchez 2007 see recognition section;
Icones Orchidacearum Vol 9 Plate 905 Hagsater & Sanchez 2007 see recognition section;
Icones Orchidacearum 9 Plate 971 Hagsater 2007 drawing fide; Orchids of the Darien Gap Kolanowska 2014 drawing fide;
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