Epidendrum philippii Rchb.f. 1850 GROUP Philippii TYPE for the group
Photos by © J P Janovec and The Atrium Website
Common Name Philipp's Epidendrum
Flower Size
Found in Huanuco department of Peru on the eastern slopes of the Andes as a small sized epiphyte with arcuate, branched stems enveloped mostly by loose, tubular to infundibular leaf sheaths and carrying several to numerous, distichous, spreading, oblong-elliptic, acute leaves that blooms on a short, erect, racemose, to 1.6" [4 cm] long, loosely several flowered inflorescence with lanceolate, spreading, longer than the ovary floral bracts.
CAUTION I have no way of personally verifying this determination so please use with caution!!!
"Epidendrum philippii is part of GROUP Philippii which is characterized by the sympodial, caespitose habit, few-leaved stems, flattened above, the erect to arching racemose to pluri-racemose inflorescence, producing new racemes from the same peduncle, in successive years, flowers generally non-resupinate, lip 3-lobed, the distal margins of the lateral lobes dentate to short fimbriate. The species is recognized by the short stems to 3" [7.5 cm] tall carrying 2 to 4 elliptic leaves 1 to 2" x .52 to .8" [2.5 to 5.0 x 1.3 to 2.0 cm], , but the inflorescence is short, 1.6" [4 cm] long, sepals .4" [10 mm] long, and the lateral lobes of the lip are somewhat larger than the mid-lobe which is emarginate. Epidendrum totoroense is vegetatively very similar but with an erect inflorescence 5.4" [13.5 cm] long, flowers yellowish brown with the apex of the column and disc tinged purple, sepals .74" [19 mm] long, and the lateral lobes of the lip smaller than the mid-lobe. Florally, the new species is very similar to Epidendrum sisgaënse Hágsater, but this species has stems to 34,8" [87 cm] tall, larger, oblong-elliptic leaves 2.6 to 7.4" x .52 to 1.6" [6.5 to 18.5 x 1.3 to 4.0 cm], flowers are greenish brown, the lip red, and the lateral lobes of the lip about the same size as the mid-lobe, which has a slightly sinuate apex. Epidendrum carlos-uribei Hágsater & E.Santiago has taller stems 6.8 to 11.2" [17 to 28 cm] tall, 3 to 5 elliptic-lanceolate leaves 3 to 3.72" x .6 to .52" [7.5 to 9.3 x 1.5 to 2.3 cm], and arching nutant inflorescence 4.4 to 7.2" [11 to 18 cm] long with up to 10 flowers which are brownish-orange, the lip yellow." Adapted from E totoroense Icones Plate 1598 Hagsater etal 2016
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Orchids of Peru Vol 2 Fieldiana Schweinfurth 1959; Fieldiana Biology, Vol 33, 1st Supple. to the Orchids of Peru Schweinfurth 1970; Icones Orchidacearum 14 Plate 1478 Hagsater & Sanchez 2013 as E humiliodes see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 15 [2] Plate 1598 Hagsater & Sanchez 2016 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 16[1] Plate 1648 Hagsater & Sanchez 2018 See recognition section ;
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