Epidendrum plurifolionocturnum Hágsater & L.Sánchez 2018 GROUP Nocturnum

TYPE Drawing by © R Jimenez and Icones Orchidacearum 16(2) Plate 1695 Hagsater & Jimenez 2018 and the AMO Herbaria Website

Common Name The Many Leaves Epidendrum [reference to the many-leaved stem, which is characteristic to this species, and only shared by Epidendrum longicolle, with which has been confused]

Flower Size 1.6" [4cm]

Found in Trinidad, Guyana, Colombia and Ecuador at elevations of 240 to 450 meters often in seasonally inundated forests as a small to just medium sized, hot growing epiphyte with simple, cane-like, terete at the base, laterally compressed towards the apex, straight stems carrying 7 to 11, distributed along the upper 2/3 of the stem; sheath 1 laterally compressed; blade lanceolate, apex narrowly rounded, mucronate, grass-like, slightly carinate, 10:1 to 13:1 leaves that blooms at any time of the year on a terminal, without a spathe, .8" [2 cm] long, apical, racemose, producing new racemes with time and thus becoming pluri-racemose, producing one flower at a time from each raceme during several years, successively 1 to 2 flowered, many flwoered inflorescence with much shorter than the ovary, embracing, triangular, acute to acuminate floral bracts and carrying resupinate, fragrant flowers with the sepals pale green to yellow, lip white.

"Epidendrum plurifolionocturnum belongs to the GROUP Nocturnum which is characterized by the sympodial, caespitose plants, short, racemose or pluri-racemose inflorescence, without spathaceous bracts, usually large, star-shaped flowers, with similar sepals and petals, and the Nocturnum Subgroup which has cane-like stems, non-thickened towards the middle, and usually successive flowers; the flowers are mostly indistinguishable in shape. The species can be recognized by the laterally compressed stems 20-33 cm tall, with 7 to 11 linear-lanceolate, acuminate leaves, 10:1 to 13: 1, 1.8 to 4" x .2 to .32" [4.5 to 10 x 0.5 to 0.8 cm], sepals 1.2 to 1.68" [30 to 42 mm] long, lateral lobes of the lip free from the mid-lobe; ovary 1.2 to 1.64" [30 to 41 mm] long. It is similar to Epidendrum longicolle Lindl. which has somewhat taller plants, 6.8 to 16" [17 to 40 cm] tall, lateral lobes of the lip united to the mid-lobe united along 1/3 to 1/2 their length, leaves 5 to 12, 2 to 6' x .16 to .32" [5 to 15 x 0.4 to 0.8 cm]. Epidendrum minus (Cogn.) Hágsater, widespread in the Amazon basin, has up to 6 lanceolate leaves, 5-6:1, 2 to 3' x .32 to .56" [5.0 to 7.5 x 0.8 to 1.4 cm], sepals .84 to .96" [21 to 24 mm] long, lateral lobes of the lip free from the mid-lobe, divergent, the ovary 1.2" [30 mm] long [Cogniaux 1907]. Epidendrum micronocturnum Carnevali & G.A.Romero generally has 2 to 6 leaves distributed along the apical half of the stem,.16 to .24" [0.4 to 0.6 cm] wide, small flowers, sepals .6 to .8" [15 to 20 mm] long, and the ovary .88 to 1.04" [22 to 26 mm] long. Epidendrum mininocturnum Dodson, ranging along the Pacific slope in southern Colombia and northern Ecuador, has small plants, 2 to 6" [5 to 15 cm] tall, 4 to 5 narrow leaves .32 to .8" [8-20 mm] wide, small flowers, sepals 1.08 to 1.12" [27 to 28 mm] long, ovary 1.08 to 1.2" [27 to 30 mm] long, and is easily recognized by the numerous thickened veins on the lateral lobes of the lip. Epidendrum bahiense Rchb.f. has stems 3.6 to 4.4" [9 to 11 cm] long, leaves 1.6 to 3.28" x .2 to .4" [40 to 82 x 5 to 10 mm], ovary 1.12" [28 mm] long, sepals .76" [19 mm] long, the lateral lobes of the lip sub-ovate-rhombic, acute, divergent, about half the length united to the mid-lobe which is ensiform, acute [based on the type at W-42385]." Hagsater etal 2018

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Icones Orchidacearum 16(2) Plate 1695 Hagsater & Jimenez 2018 drawing/photo fide

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