Epidendrum platystele Hágsater & E.Santiago 2013 GROUP Diothonea SUBGROUP Diothonea

TYPE Drawing by © Jimenez and The AMO Herbaria Website

Common Name The Wide Column Epidendrum

Flower Size 1” [2.5 cm]

Found in northern Peru on the Cerro Picorana on the eastern branch of the Andes at elevations around 2200 meters as a medium sized, cold growing monopodial epiphyte with cane-like, terete, thin, arising from the apical internodes of the previous stem carrying about 13, all along the stem, about 7 persistent at time of flowering, articulate, distichous, subcoriaceous, linear-lanceolate, rounded, minutely bilobed, margin entire leaves that blooms in the summer on a terminal, racemose, occuring only once, peduncle .16” [4 mm] long, terete, thin, bractless, 1” [2.5 cm] long overall, densely simultaneously many flowered inflorescence with half as long as the ovary, triangular-lanceolate, acute floral bracts carrying resupinate, orange-brown flowers.

"Epidendrum platystele belongs to the GROUP Diothonea SUBGROUP Diothonea which is characterized by the branching plants, linear lanceolate to oblong, bilobed leaves, racemose, arching-nutant inflorescence, membranaceous flowers (rarely fleshy), the entire to 3-lobed, ecallose lip with the margin erose without or with 1 to 10 thin, smooth to erose keels, the column completely to obliquely united to the lip, the anther reniform. The species is recognized by the orange brown flowers, sepals and petals partly spreading, the sepals apices obtuse, lip united to the basal half of the thick column, ecallose, with a semi-circular, fleshy thickening at the apical sinus, clinandrium-hood prominent, margin denticulate. Epidendrum hemihenomenum Hágsater & Dodson has successive reddish brown flowers, the lip much wider than long, the clinandrium-hood slightly shorter with the margin sub-entire and the nectary very wide. Epidendrum heterothoneum (Rchb.f. & Warsc.) Hágsater & Dodson has partly spreading sepals and petals with acuminate apices, the column united to the lip throughout, and the clinandrium-hood is reduced with an entire margin. Epidendrum gastrochilum Kraenzl has a lax, few-flowered, (with 4 to 5 flowers), the column united to the lip throughout, and with 5 laminar keels at the base of the lip.

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Icones Orchidacearum 14 Plate 1474 Hagsater & Santiago 2013 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 18(1) plate 1808 2020 see recognition section

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