Epidendrum sancti-ramoni Kraenzl. 1929 GROUP Epidanthus

Photo by © Byron Rinke

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Common Name The San Ramon Epidendrum [Town in Costa Rica]

Flower Size .2" [5 mm]

Found in Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia in cloud forests at elevations around 800 to 2000 [2500] meters as a small sized, warm to cool growing epiphyte with slender stems enveloped by sulcate leaf sheaths and carrying to 12 or so, acicular leaves and blooms in the spring through fall on a terminal, moderately zig-zag, racemose, 1.2 to 2" [3 to 5 cm] long, to 12 successively flowered inflorescence with a broadly sublate, funnel-shaped floral bract that is shorter than the pedicel.

Said to be a synonym of E paranthicum by several references including Icones Orchidacearum 13 plate 1367 Hagsater & Sanchez 2010, but I have left them separate for now, even though they do appear to be quite similar, as Costa Rican authorities separate them.

Epidendrum sancti-ramoni is part of GROUP Epidanthus characterized by the short, small somewhat scandent plants with very thin stems carrying very narrow, more or less fleshy leaves each one with a small, triangular, acute opposing ligule that blooms on an apical, distichous, usually secund inflorescence and has 2 to 4 pollina. The species is distinguished from others by the relatively small stems and leaves, the basal leaves tend to be deciduous, white to cream colored flowers with a yellow green lip. E paranthicum is only found from Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras Nicaragua, Costa Rica and western Panama.

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum Plate 1530 Atwood/Mora 1993 drawing fide; Manual de las Plantas de Costa Rica Vol 3 Hammel, Grayum, Herrera and Zamora 2003 drawing fide; Vanishing Beauty, Native Costa Rican Orchids Vol 1 Pupulin 2005 photo fide; Icones Orchidacearum 13 plate 1367 Hagsater & Sanchez 2010 see header as Synonym; Orchid Genera and Species in Guatemala Archila, Szlachchetko, Chiron, Lipinska, Mystkowska and Bertolini 2018

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