Epidendrum ramiro-medinae Hágsater & L.Sánchez 2015 GROUP Nocturnum
TYPE Photo/photo by © Ramiro Medina/TYPE Drawing R Jimenez M and The AMO Herbaria Website
Common Name Ramiro Medina's Epidendrum [Colombian Orchid Enthusaist current]
Flower Size 2" [5 cm]
Found in Putomayo department of Colombia on the upper reaches of the Amazon basin at elevations around 1900 meters as a medium sized, cool growing epiphyte or lithophyte with simple, cane-like, laterally comrpessed, ancipitous stems carrying 6 to 7, all along the apical 2/3's of the stem, underside of leaves tinged purple, upper side olive green, ovate-elliptic, bilobed, evident dorsal keel leaves that blooms in the summer on a terminal, without a spathe, racemose, successively single, several flowered inflorescence with much shorter than the ovary, hidden by the apical leaf, triangular, acute floral bracts and carrying resupinate, somewhat nocturnally fragrant flowers with the sepals and petals light green, sepals slightly tinged with brown externally, a white lip, the apical 2/3's of the mid lobe is green, the calli an intense yellow, and the column is light green towards the base, apically white.
"Epidendrum ramiro-medinae belongs to the GROUP Nocturnumwhich 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 upper part of the stems strongly laterally compressed, ancipitose, 6 to 7 leaves distributed along the upper 3/4 of the stem, narrow leaves, .6 to 1.12" [1.5 to 2.8 cm] wide, ovary shorter 3 to 3.12" [75 to 78 mm] long than the sepals .36 to .4" [90 to 100 mm] long, lateral lobes of the lip narrowly semi-ovoid, rounded, mid-lobe 2.72 to 3" [68 75 mm] long, column .52" [13 mm] long. Similar to Epidendrum cocornocturnum Hágsater, endemic to central Colombia, has green plants, leaves 1.12 to 1.84" [2.8 to 4.6 cm} wide, a longer ovary .24 to .36" [60 to 90 mm], acuminate floral segments, lateral lobes of the lip triangular, acuminate, mid-lobe of the lip shorter, .2 to .24" [50 to 60 mm], and column twice as long, .76 to 1.04" [19-26 mm]. Epidendrum nocturnum Jacq., widely distributed throughout the neotropics has terete stems, relatively long, narrow leaves, a shorter ovary 1.8 to 2.48" [45 to 62 mm], smaller sepals and petals, 1.6 to 2.8" [40 to 70 mm] long, and linear petals. Epidendrum carpophorum Barb. Rodr. also has ancipitose stems, ranges along the Atlantic slope of Venezuela, the Guianas and southeastern Brazil, has 4 to 6, olive green leaves, the underside tinged purple, leaves 1 to 2.4" [2.5-6 cm] wide, a short ovary 3 to 3.12" [75 to 78 mm] and smaller flowers, sepals 1.2 to 2.4" [30 to 60 mm] long, the lateral lobes of the lip ovate-triangular, acute and short .6 to .8" [15 to 20 mm] long, and the mid-lobe very short 1.2 to 1.4" [30 to 35 mm]. Epidendrum angustilobum Fawc. & Rendle (syn. Epidendrum latifolium (Lindl.) Garay & Sweet is abundant in the Antilles and northern coast of Colombia, Venezuela and the Guianas, has dark green colored plants, wider leaves .08 to .28" [2 to 7 cm] wide and a much longer ovary 4.8 to 8" [12 to 20 cm]long, smaller flowers, sepals 1.68 to 2.6" [42 to 65 mm] long, the mid-lobe short, 1.44 to 1.8" [36 to 45 mm}. Epidendrum macroophorum Hágsater & Dodson, endemic to the western slope of the Andes from Panamá to northern Peru has dark green colored plants, longer, wider leaves, 3.8 to 8" x .92 to 2.8" [9.5 to 20 x 2.3 to 7 cm], a very long ovary 8.8 to 11.2" [22 to 28 cm), the mid-lobe of the lip short 1.4 to 1.87" [35 to 47 mm] and a very long column 1.2 to 1.36" [30-34 mm]." Hagsater etal 2015
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Orquideologia 29: 1 Hagsater & Medina 2012 photo fide; * Icones Orchidacearum 15 [1] Plate 1553 Hagsater 2015 drawing/photo fide; Icones Orchidacearum 15 [1] Plate 1565 Hagsater & Sanchez 2015 see recognition section; Orquideas, Tesoro de Colombia Vol 2 Ortiz & Uribe 2017 photo fide; Icones Orchidacearum 16[1] Plate 1613 Hagsater & Santiago 2018 See Recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 17(2) Plate 1762 Hagsater & Jimenez 2020 see recognition section;
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