Epidendrum pepeportillae Hagsater, H Medina and Cisneros 2021
LCDP Photo by E Hagsater & A. Cisneros and Icones Orchidacearum 18(2) Plate 1887 Hagsater & J Duarte 2021
LATE
EARLY
Common Name Pepe Portilla's Epidendrum [established the nursery Ecuagenera Cia. Ltda. in Gualaceo, Azuay, Ecuador in May 1992 to promote the propagation of native orchid species of Ecuador and has done an outstanding job, reproducing many rare and previously unknown species]
Flower Size .6" [1.5 cm]
Found in Morona Santiago province of Ecuador on the northern end of the Cordillera del Cutucú, an Andean Tepui east of the Ecuadorean Troncal Amazónica and east of the Río Upano and the Río Zamora. It is relatively low at this end before reaching the Río Pastaza and the Río Santiago on the southern end separates it from the Cordillera del Cóndor at elevations around 1200 meters as a small to medium sized, cool growing sympodial, caepitose epiphyte with cane-like, terete stems covered with foliar sheaths carrying 15 all along the stem, distichous, suberect to slightly arcuate, sub-coriaceous, with a tubular, striated when dry, medium green leaf sheath base, widely lanceolate, acute to acuminate, smooth, margin entire, concolor, medium green leaves that blooms in the fall on a terminal, without a spathe, peduncle ca. 1.28" [3.2 cm] long, terete, slightly thick, short, partly hidden by a single, linear-lanceolate, acuminate, embracing bract, rachis ca. 2.4 to 3.6" [6 to 9 cm] long, terete, slightly thick; racemes with 2 bracts at the base, to 5.6" [14 cm] long overall, paniculate 2 to 4 branched, arching, densely simultaneously 15 to 40 flowered inflorescence with progressively shorter, somewhat longer than the ovary, linear-triangular, acuminate floral bracts and carrying resupinate, cup-shaped flowers.
"Epidendrum pepeportillae belongs to the GROUP Bicirrhatum, a small group of species which has appeared recently and is characterized by the caespitose habit, the simple, leafy, short stems, the compact, nodding inflorescence, the conspicuous bracts about as long as the ovary, the numerous fleshy, green and/or white to orange flowers, with the mid-lobe deeply bilobulate, the lobules sometimes cirrate, and the pollinia thin, and unequal, the inner pair smaller, without being of the bird-wing-type. The new species is recognized by the orange flowers and yellow lip and apex of the column, the shorter ovary .3 to .4" [7.5 to 10 mm] long, and the lateral lobes semi-orbicular-falcate, obtuse with margin entire. Epidendrum enantilobum Hágsater has green to cream-colored flowers, lip and column white, the ovary about .36 to .56" [9 to 14 mm ] long, and the lip with falcate-oblong lateral lobes, and the mid-lobe forming two opposite narrow ciliate lobes. Epidendrum brachyblastum Hágsater & Dodson has flowers deep green with lip snow white, lateral lobes of the lip narrow hemi-ovate, and the ovary about 15 mm long. Epidendrum xelidonourum Hágsater & H.Medina has very pale greenish white to ochre flowers, base of the sepals, petals and column green, column and lip white, lateral lobes of the lip form a ¼ circle, and the mid-lobe basal half sub-rectangular, slightly slimmer at the middle, apical half bilobed, lobes linear triangular, acuminate, arching-divaricate, reminiscent of the tail of barn swallows." Hagsater etal 2021
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Icones Orchidacearum 18(2) Plate 1887 Hagsater & Jimenez 2021 LCDP Photo/photo fide;
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