Epidendrum rousseauae Schltr. 1918 GROUP Laterale
Photo by © Ray Barkalow and his First Ray Orchids Website
Photo by © Anonomous
Drawing by © Jimenez, Hágsater & E.Santiago and The AMO Herbario Website
to
LATER
Common Name Mrs. Rousseau's Epidendrum [Wife of Belgian Orchid Enthusiast late 1800, early 1900's]
Flower Size 1" [2.5 cm]
Found in Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia as a miniature sized, hot to warm growing epiphytic herb at elevations of sealevel to 1000 meters with close set, ovoid, cylinder-like, thin, green, covered nearly totally by 1 to 2 scarious, fibrous sheaths, smooth becoming slightly thickened psuedobulbs carrying a single, apical, erect, coriaceous, elliptic to oblong-elliptic, obtuse, minutely bilobed, with a minute dorsal keel, coriaceous, margin entire, spreading basally clasping leaf that blooms in the later spring through summer arising from a rudimentary pseudobulb, and is different in that it has a basal, 2" [5 cm] long, erect to lateral, distichous, flowering only once, few, lax-flowered, erect, peduncle laterally compressed, somewhat ancipitose, erect, straight, short, provided at the base with 3 widely ovate when spread , subacute, amplexicaul, infundibuliform, somewhat imbricating bracts, apical margin minutely crenate rachis thin, laterally compressed, simultaneously 4 to 8 flowered inflorescence with fragrant, fleshy, light green flowers.
Said to be a synonym of E laterale and seems to be very similar but differs in the non pinched opening at the lip base and column foot, if it is a synonym then E laterale takes precedence.
"Epidendrum rousseauae belongs to the GROUP Laterale which is characterized by the sympodial, caespitose plants with fusiform, single leaved pseudobulbs, and a simple, distichous, apical inflorescence, arising from a rudimentary pseudobulb, the lowers, fleshy, pale green. The species is recognized by the 4 to 8 flowers, elliptic-lanceolate sepals .36 to .48" [9 to 12 mm] long, petals linear, .32 to .44" [8 to 11 mm] long, the midlobe of the lip with the base oblong and the apex gradually dilated, the column arching with a pair of rounded apical teeth, and the short ovary .2 to .24" [5 to 6 mm] long. Epidendrum laterale Rolfe is vegetatively very similar, the floral segments are larger, sepals elliptic, .6" [15 mm] long, petals linear-oblanceolate, .56" [14 mm] long, and mid-lobe cuneate at the base, and widened towards the apex; the ovary is .4" [10 mm] long." Hagsater etal 2008
Synonyms Auliza rousseauae (Schltr.) Brieger 1977
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Repert. Sp. Nov. Regni. Veg. Beih. 17: 39. Panama Schlechter 1922; The Genus Epidendrum Ames 1936; The Orchids of Panama L.O. Williams & P Allen 1946; AOS Bulletin Vol 27 No 6 1958; Die Orchideen 3 Auflage Bd 1 Sonderabdruck aus Schlechter Lieferung 9 513 - 576 Brieger, Maatsch and Senghas 1977 as Auliza rousseauae photo good; Field Guide to the Orchids of Costa Rica and Panama Dressler 1993 photo fide; Vanishing Beauty; Native Costa Rican Orchids Vol 1 Pupulin 2005 photo fide; Orquideas de la Serrania del Baudo Misas Urreta 2005 drawing/photo fide; Icones Orchidacearum Vol 11 Plate 1136 Hagsater & Sanchez 2008 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum Vol 11 Plate 1175 Hagsater & Sanchez 2008 drawing fide; Orchids of the Darien Gap Kolanowska 2014 drawing fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 85 #7 2016 photo good; Orquideas, Tesoro de Colombia Vol 2 Ortiz & Uribe 2017 photo fide;
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