Epidendrum rhombimancum Hágsater & L.Sánchez 2008 GROUP Mancum SUBGROUP Mancum

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

LATE

Common Name The Diamond Shaped Mancum Group Epidendrum refers to the transversly diamond shaped lip]

Flower Size .36" [9 mm]

Found in southern Ecuador and northern Peru on the Cordillera del Condor and the eastern slope of the Andes in bushes at elevations around 2150 to 3000 meters as a medium sized, cold growing, repent epiphyte with cane-like, produced from near the base of the previous stem, laterally compressed towards the apex stems carrying 3 to 4, all along the apical 1/3rd of the stems, elliptic-lanceolate, obtuse, aristate, margin entire leaves that blooms in the late spring, summer and fall on a terminal, with an ancipitous, oblong, acute, long and narrow spathe, racemose, erect, elongate, peduncle 3/4's enveloped by the spathe, rachis erect, straight, simultaneously 30 to 60 flowered inflorescence with much shorter than the ovary, triangular, acute floral bracts and carrying non-resupinate, strongly fragrant flowers with the tepals and column green to greenish yellow, and a white lip that is dorsally reddish.

"Epidendrum rhombimancum belongs to the GROUP Mancum SUBGROUP Mancum which is characterized by the sympodial growth, narrow spathaceous bracts with parallel sides, erect raceme with non-resupinate flowers and a generally reduced, fleshy lip. The species has elliptic-lanceolate leaves, .24" [6 mm] long sepals, obovate petals with the margin somewhat undulate towards the apex, the lip entire, transversely elliptic, bicallose, the keels laminar, triangular, with a central keel composed of a series of knobs. It is similar to Epidendrum pseudosarcoglottis but that species has narrower leaves, .6 to .88" [1.5 to 2.2 cm] wide, spatulate petals, and a rectangular lip with a single callus forming a wide cushion. Epidendrum sarcoglottis Schltr. has oblanceolate petals, a triangular, acute, claw-shaped lip with a single, cushion-shaped callus. Epidendrum mancum Lindl. has shorter plants, 6 to 10" [15 to 25 cm] tall, shorter, wider leaves, .8 to 2.4" x .68 to 1.6" [2 to 6 x 1.7 to 4 cm], orange and yellow to brown-red flowers, the column and lip white, suborbicular to spatulate petals, a subquadrate lip, rarely with minute lateral lobes, bicallose lip, the calli elongate and prominent, with a short globose keel in the middle. Epidendrum pseudomancum Hágsater & L. Sánchez also has shorter plants, 7.8 to 15.2" [19 to 38 cm] tall, shorter, wider leaves 2.8 to 5.2"x 1.2 to 1.92" [7 to 13 x 3.0 to 4.8 cm], sepals and petals externally reddish brown, internally the sepals olive green, the petals yellowish green, column and lip white, the lip occasionally with pink dots, petals suborbicular-spatulate, lip trulliform, apiculate." Hagsaer etal 2008

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Icones Orchidacearum 11 Plate 1173 Hagsater & Sanchez 2008 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 12 Plate 1262 Hagsater 2009 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 12 Plate 1286 Hagsater 2009 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 16[1] Plate 1611 Hagsater & Santiago 2018 See recognition section;

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