Epidendrum rhodochilum (Schltr.) Hágsater & Dodson 1992 GROUP Megalospathum
Photo by © The Sociedad Colombiana Orquideologia Flickr Website
Drawing by © Jimenez, Hágsater & E.Santiago and The AMO Herbario Website
Common Name The Violet Colored Column Epidendrum
Flower Size 2" [5 cm]
Found in Colombia and Ecuador in wet forests at elevations around 2600 to 3000 meters as a small sized, cold growing epiphyte with an erect, simple, cane-like, laterally compressed, straight stem and carrying 8 to 12, distichous, all along the stem, coriaceous, succulent, smooth, grayish green, somewhat tinged purple, ovate, oblique, aristate apically, apical margin erose, basal and apical leaves somewhat smaller, articulate to the sheaths below leaves that blooms in the fall on a terminal, on a mature growth, occuring only once, pendent, peduncle enveloped completely by the single, wide, semi-orbicular, conduplicate spathaceous bract, 1.6 to 2.4" [4 to 6 cm] long, simultaneously 2 to 6 flowered inflorescence and carrying resupinate, fruity scented flowers.
"Epidendrum rhodochilum belongs to the GROUP Megalospathum characterized by the sympodial, subcaespitose but branching habit, many-leaved stem, fleshy, oblique leaves, a short, few flowered, raceme subtended by large semi-ovate spathes, resupinate flowers, the column more or less united to the lip; and the SUBGROUP Megalospathum which has the calli substituted by elongate, low ribs, flowers green or greenish brown, lip burgundy red, lustrous, margin denticulate. The species is recognized by the 4.4 to 7.2" [11 to 18 cm] long stems, peduncle of the inflorescence totally hidden within the spathe, sepals ovate-oblong, .6 to .68" x .26 to .28"[15 to 17 x 6.5 to 7.0 mm], petals elliptic-ovate, .6 to .64" x .21 to .22 [15 to 16 x 5.3 to 5.5 mm]; lip with 3 parallel ribs, the middle one longer, disc minutely pubescent. Epidendrum megalospathum Rchb.f. has similar sized plants, but the sepals and petals are narrower, sepals oblong to oblong-elliptic, .6 to .72" x .16 to .22" [15 to 18 x 4 to 5.5 mm], petals ovate-elliptic, .52 to .64" x .16 to .18" [14 to 16 x 4 to 4.5 mm], the apex of the peduncle and rachis of the inflorescence totally exposed outside the spathe, lip with calli substituted by two low, narrow, parallel ribs, with two lower ribs in the middle forming a “V” shaped structure, and then ending in a minutely papillose, short extension reaching about 1/3 of the lip. Epidendrum brachyrhodochilum Hágsater & E.Santiago has shorter stems, 1.4 to 2.8" [3.5 to 7 cm] long, the peduncle and rachis totally hidden within the spathes, sepals elliptic, .44 to .48" [11 to 12 mm] long, petals elliptic-sub-ovate, .44 to .48" x .2" [11 to 12 x 5 mm], lip sub-orbicular-obovate, .48 to .64 x .48 to .52" [12 to 16 x 12 to 14 mm, disc with 3 parallel ribs all the same size and length, the lateral pair bifurcate at the base and thus appearing as 5 ribs, the lateral ribs very short." Hagsater etal 2015
Synonyms *Diothonea rhodochila Schltr. 1924
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Repert. Sp. Nov. Regni. Veg. Beih. 27: 61 Colombia Schlechter 1924 as Diothonea rhodochila; * Orquídea (Méx.) 12(2): 296. Hagsater 1992; Icones Orchidacearum 12 Plate 1287 Hagsater 2009 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 14 Plate 1481 Hagsater & Sanchez 2013 see recognition section; Orchids of the Department of Valle De Cauca Colombia Vol 2 Kolanowska, Hagsater etal. 2014 photo drawing/photo fide; Icones Orchidacearum 15 [1] Plate 1508 Hagsater & Sanchez 2015 see recognition section; AOS Bulletin Vol 86 #5 2017 photo fide; Orquideas, Tesoro de Colombia Vol 2 Ortiz & Uribe 2017 photo fide; Icones Orchidacearum 15 [1] Plate 1532 Hagsater & Sanchez 2015 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 15 [1] Plate 1539 Hagsater & Sanchez 2015 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum Vol 15[1] Plate 1555 Hagsater & Dodson 2015 Drawing/photo fide; Icones Orchidacearum 15 [1] Plate 1559 Hagsater & Sanchez 2015 see recognition section;
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