Epidendrum santiagense Hagsater & Dodson 2013 GROUP Pseudepidendrum SUBGROUP Paniculatum

TYPE Drawing

Photo Eric Hagsater/TYPE Drawing by © Jimenez, Hágsater & E.Santiago and The AMO Herbario Website

LATE EARLIER

Common Name The Rio Santiago Epidendrum [A River in Ecuador where the orchid occurs]

Flower Size 1" [2.5 cm]

Found in Morona-Santiago province of Ecuador at elevations around 300 to 400 meters as a small to large sized, hot growing epiphyte with simple, cane-like, terete, straight stems carrying 14 to 17, alternate, articulate, subcoriaceous, all along the stem, elliptic, short-acuminate, smooth, light green, entire margin leaves that blooms in the late fall and earlier winter on a terminal, erect, occuring only once, paniculate to occasionally racemose in youth, 5 branched, 2.8 to 4.8" [7 to 12 cm] long, each with a basal, triangular, acuminate bract, peduncle 1.6 to 2.8" [4 to 7 cm] long, laterally compressed, with a near the base, tubular, conduplicate beyond the middle bract, to 9.6" [24 cm] long, simultaneously to 60 flowered inflorescence.

"The flowers of E. santiagense looks like most members of the 2013 GROUP Pseudepidendrum SUBGROUP Paniculatum with green and white flowers and the lip marked with purple dots. The species has somewhat larger, unscented flowers, the sepals .6" [15 mm] long, 5 to 6 veined. Epidendrum christensonii Hágsater & E.Santiago has taller plants, ca. 40 to 48" [100 to 120 cm] high, and smaller flowers with sepals .304 to .32" [7.6 to 8 mm] long, the sepals green with the lip immaculate white. Epidendrum unguiculatum has sepals .72 to .8" [18 to 20 mm] long, the lip .348 to .4" x .44 to .6" [8.7 to 10 x 11 to 15 mm] and apparently does not have any spots on the lip except for the occasional purple calli, (the type from Iquitos, Peru, not the plants from Venezuela). Epidendrum paniculolateribilobum Hágsater, Ric.Fernández & E.Santiago, has much taller plants, to 100" [2.5 meters] tall, the flowers are greenish white, occasionally with the disc of the lip has a few purple dots, and the lateral lobes of the lip are bilobed. Epidendrum successivum Hágsater & F.E.L.Miranda has a racemose inflorescence with up to 22 successive flowers, the lip and apex of the column have a solid purple splotch." Hagsater & Dodson 2013

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Icones Orchidacearum 14 Plate 1467 Hagsater & Sanchez 2013 see recognition section; * Icones Orchidacearum 14 Plate 1484 Hagsater & Dodson 2013 drawing fide;

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