Epidendrum pterocaulum Hágsater & E.Santiago 2009 GROUP Alberti SUBGROUP Allenii

TYPE Drawing by © Jimenez, Hágsater & E.Santiago and The AMO Herbario Website

Common Name The Winged Stem Epidendrum

Flower Size .8" [2 cm]

Found in Costa Rica without locational data as a miniature sized epiphyte with simple, cane like, basally terete, somewhat laterally compressed, thin, erect stems enveloped basally by non-foliaceous, scarious, tubular sheaths and carrying about 5, alternate, articulate, subcoriaceous, narrowly elliptic, obtuse, margin entire leaves that blooms in the spring on a terminal, occuring only once, erect, racemose, peduncle 1.08" [2.7 cm] long, laterally compressed, ancipitose, straight, provided with 2, narrowly triangular, acuminate, amplexicaul bracts, rachis .12 to .16" [3 to 4 mm] long, laterally compressed, nearly totally hidden by the floral bracts, 2" [5 cm] long, 6 flowered inflorescence with much shorter than the ovary, narrowly triangular, acuminate, amplexicaul floral bracts and carrying non-resupinate, membraneous, showy, purple flowers.

"Epidendrum pterocaulum is recognized by the racemose inflorescence with an ancipitose peduncle, short rachis with a few showy, purple flowers, sepals about .4" [10 mm] long, the lip with thickened, smooth, branching, radiating veins, and the inflated nectary just behind the perianth. We have not been able to place it to a group, though the flattened peduncle of the inflorescence is reminiscent of the GROUP Neowilliamsia , but the pollinarium lacks the hard, tape-like caudicles. The GROUP Albertii SUBGROUP Allenii also has a flattened, two-winged peduncle, but the floral bracts are ovate-elliptic, conduplicate and imbricating. The flowers of Epidendrum suavis have similar, obliquely united column-lip, and ecallose lip, but has monopodial plants where the new stem originates from the apical internodes of the previous stem, leaves are linear-lanceolate and inflorescences lax-flowered, the flowers yellow to yellowish brown." Hagsater etal 2009

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Icones Orchidacearum 12 Plate 1279 Hagsater & Sanchez 2009 drawing fide

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