Epidendrum peristerium Hágsater & E.Santiago 2010 GROUP Alberti SUBGROUP Convergens

TYPE Drawing by © R Jimenez M and The AMO Herbaria Website

Common Name The Dove-Like Epidendrum [refers to the lip shape]

Flower Size .8” [2 cm]

Found in Colombia on the plateau of the Cordillera Central north and east of Medellin at elevations of 1200 to 1800 meters as a small sized, cool growing, caespitose epiphyte with simple, cane-like, laterally compressed, ancipitous, arching stems carrying 3 to 4, all along the apical half of the stem, alternate, articulate, suberect, progressively larger, oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, margin entire leaves that blooms at any time of the year on a terminal, racemose then becoming pluriracemose with time, distichous, peduncle elongate, laterally compressed, ancipitous, two-winged, rachis short, totally hidden within the floral bracts, longer than the apical leaf, successively single, 4 flowered inflorescence with much shorter than the ovary, narrowly elliptic, obtuse, conduplicate, imbricate, persistent after flowering floral bracts and carrying resupinate, greenish white flowers with a white lip and a brownish anther.

"Epidendrum peristerium 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 Convergens which is characterized by the stems with numerous leaves, the apical inflorescence (rarely lateral), peduncle elongate, bare, non-bract bearing, two-winged, the rachis short, covered by rounded, usually imbricating, bracts, a 3-lobed lip and 8 pollinia. The species is recognized by the greenish white flowers with a white lip, sepals .44 to .46" [11 to 11.5 mm] long and the base of the lip cordate, the lateral lobes obliquely ovate and the mid-lobe sub-quadrate. Epidendrum convergens Garay & Dunsterville has greenish brown flowers, with a pinkish hue, sepals .34" [8.5 mm] long, the base of the lip cuneate, the lateral lobes obliquely triangular, acuminate, and the mid-lobe oblong-rectangular, the apex truncate. Epidendrum nora-mesae Hágsater & O.Pérez has larger green flowers, the sepals .56 to .84" [1.4 to 2.1 cm] long, the lateral lobes of the lip semi-ovate, and the midlobe obcuneate. Epidendrum churunense Garay & Dunsterville has a 3-lobed lip, but only 4 pollinia." Hagsater etal 2010

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Icones Orchidacearum 13 Plate 1362 Hagsater & Dodson 2010 See Recognition section; * Icones Orchidacearum 13 Plate 1370 Hagsater & Santiago 2010 drawing fide; Orquideas, Tesoro de Colombia Vol 2 Ortiz & Uribe 2017 photo fide; Orquideas, Tesoro de Colombia Vol 2 Ortiz & Uribe 2017 as E cf peristerium photo ok;

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