Epidendrum presbyteri-ludgeronis Gomes Ferreira 1994 GROUP Nocturnum

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

THROUGH MID

Common Name Father Ludgero’s Epidendrum [Brazilian Priest 1900’s]

Flower Size 1.2” [3 cm]

Found in Alagoas, Espirito Santo and Rio de Janiero states of Brazil at low elevations as a medium sized, hot to warm growing epiphyte with basally terete, laterally compressed above, , cane-like, simple, straight stems carrying 6 to 7, all along the stem, suberect, lanceolate, slightly bilobed to retuse, coriaceous, slightly carinate leaves that blooms in the summer through mid fall on a terminal, without a spathe, racemose to pluriracemose, peduncle 1” [2.5 cm] long, new racemes arise from the basal internodes of the previous stems, successively single, several flowered inflorescence with much shorter than the ovary, embracing, triangular, acute floral bracts and carrying resupinate, green flowers with the sepals dorsally tinged red, lip white, column green, turning reddish on the fourth day after opening.

"Epidendrum presbytery-ludgeronis belongs to the GROUP Nocturnum which is characterized by the sympodial, caespitose plants, cane-like, non-fusiform stems, successive flowers on a short, racemose or pluri-racemose inflorescence, without spathaceous bracts, and large, star-shaped flowers, with similar sepals and petals; the flowers are mostly indistinguishable in shape. The species is recognized by the laterally compressed stems with 6 to 7 leaves distributed throughout the stem, lanceolate, 2.6 to 5.2" x 1.2" [6.5 to 13 x 1.2 to 3.0 cm], flowers autogamous, green, the sepals dorsally tinged red, lip white, column green, ovary 2 to 2.08" [50 to 52 mm] long, the body of the capsule located at the apical half of the pedicelate ovary. Epidendrum carpophorum Barb.Rodr, found along the Atlantic Coast from Venezuela, Guyana and Brazil has much wider, ovate-elliptic leaves, 1 to 2.4" [2.5 to 6.0 cm] wide, distributed along the apical half of the stem, sepals and petals yellowish green, lip and column white, petals narrower, .4 to 1" [1.0 to 2.5 mm] wide, and the ovary much longer, 2 to 4.8" [50 to 120 mm] long, with the body of the capsule only slightly displaced beyond the middle of the pedicelate ovary. Epidendrum nocturnum Jacq. widely distributed in the Neotropics at low altitudes, has terete stems, narrowly ovate-elliptic leaves distributed along the apical 2/3 of the stems, .32 to 1.68" [0.8-to 4.2 cm] wide, sepals and petals longer, 2 to 2.8" [50 to 70 mm] long, yellowish green, lip and column white, and the body of the capsule in the middle and occupying nearly the whole length of the pedicelate ovary." Hagsater etal 2016

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Icones Orchidacearum 15 [2] Plate 1595 Hagsater & Sanchez 2016 drawing fide;

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