Epidendrum pendens L.O.Williams 1941 GROUP Difforme
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Drawing by © Jimenez, Hágsater & E.Santiago and The AMO Herbario Website
Common Name The Pendant Growing Epidendrum
Flower Size 2.4" [6 cm]
Found in Costa Rica and Panama in montane forests at elevations of 800 to 1000 meters as a small to medium sized, warm growing epiphyte with simple, laterally compressed, ancipitous stems carrying 8 to 12, equidistant along the stem, lanceolate to elliptic-lanceolate, retuse, fleshy, margin entire, obliquely pendant, grayish green leaves that blooms in the winter and spring on a pendant, terminal to lateral, sessile, 1 to rarely 2 flowered inflorescence with shorter than the ovaries floral bracts.
"Epidendrum pendens belongs to the GROUP Difforme which is characterized by the caespitose sympodial plants, fleshy, pale green to glaucous leaves, apical inflorescence, sessile, rarely with a short peduncle, one-flowered to corymbose, without spathaceous bracts, fleshy, green to yellowish-green rarely white flowers. The species can be recognized by its pendent plants, laterally compressed stems, green-grayish reaves and flowers; 1 to rarely 2 large flowers, sepals 9-veined, lip 3-lobed wlth many thickened veins. This species is unique within the GROUP Difforme due to the pendent plants and the lateral inflorescence. It is vegetatively similar to Epidendrum rhizomaniacum Rchb. f. but that species has erect plants, roots growing basally and from the nodes of the stems, green leaves, 2 to 3 white flowers and triquetrous ovary. There are other species of the Difforme Group such as Epidendrum vulgoamparoanum, Epidendrum romero-castañeda , Epidendrum platychilum & Epidendrum kerryae with thickened veins on the lip but those species are very different and the plants are erect not pendent." Hagsater etal 2007
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; The Orchids of Panama L.O. Williams & P Allen 1946 drawing fide; Ceiba Vol 5 No 1 L O Williams 1956; Field Guide to the Orchids of Costa Rica and Panama Dressler 1993; Manual de las Plantas de Costa Rica Vol 3 Hammel, Grayum, Herrera and Zamora 2003; Icones Orchidacearum 9 Plate 972 Hagsater 2007 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 14 Plate 1421 Hagsater & Santiago 2013 See recognition section;
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