Epidendrum platychilum Schltr. 1921 GROUP Difforme
Photo by © Rudolf Jenny and The Swiss Orchid Foundation at the Jany Renz Herbaria Website
PHOTO by © Charles Russel Ossian
Drawing by © R Hansfeld
Drawing by © Jimenez, Hágsater & E.Santiago and The AMO Herbario Website
Common Name The Broad Lipped Epidendrum
Flower Size .4" [1 cm]
Found in Ecuador on the Pacific coast of the Andes in montane rainforest at elevations of 800 to 1400 meters as a miniature to small sized, warm to cool growing epiphyte with somewhat laterally compressed, flexuous stems carrying 3 to 5, coriaceous, elliptic to narrowly ovate, retuse, margin entire leaves that blooms at any time of the year on a terminal, occuring only once, sessile inflorescence arising on a mature stem with shorter than the ovary, triangular, acute floral bracts and 1 to 2, resupinate, simultaneously opening flowers.
"Epidendrum platychilum belongs to the GROUP Difforme which is recognized 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 lateral compressed stems, 1 to 2, green flowers, inflated, terete ovary, reniform-sub-orbicular lip, with several prominent veins, clinandrium-hood prominent, fimbriate. It is similar to Epidendrum kerryae Hágsater & L.Sánchez from Colombia and Ecuador which has a single, large flower, the ovary is trigonous, with a ventral vesicle, dorsally flat, the veins of the lip are somewhat thickened and the clinandrium-hood is erose." Hagsater etal 1999
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; *Repert. Sp. Nov. Regni. Veg. Beih. 19: 42. Costa Rica Schlechter 1923; Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 8: 80 Ecuador Schlechter 1921 Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. Figuren-Atlas 57: 356 Schlechter 1929 drawing fide; Icones Plantarum Tropicarum Plate 91 Dodson 1980 drawing fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 53 #10 1984 photo fide; Orquideología 19(2): 38-44. 1994 photo/drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 3 Plate 342 Hagsater & Sanchez 1999 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 7 Plate 796 Hagsater and Sanchez 2004 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum Vol 8 Plate 886 Hagsater & Sanchez 2006 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 9 Plate 972 Hagsater 2007 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 12 Plate 1276 Hagsater & Sanchez 2009 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 14 Plate 1421 Hagsater & Santiago 2013 See recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 15 [1] Plate 1535 Hagsater & Sanchez 2015 see recognition section; Orquideas, Tesoro de Colombia Vol 2 Ortiz & Uribe 2017; Icones Orchidacearum 16[1] Plate 1632 Hagsater & Santiago 2018 See recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 18(2) Plate 1858 Hagsater & Jimenez 2021 see recognition section
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