Epidendrum schistostemum Hágsater, Laube & L.Sánchez 2008 GROUP Difforme
Photos by © Tauchgurke and Flickr Orchid Photo Website
TYPE Drawing by © Jimenez, Hágsater & E.Santiago and The AMO Herbario Website
Common Name The Divided Stamen Epidendrum [refers to this species being deeply cleft on either side of the column apex]
Flower Size 1" [2.5 cm]
Found in Panama on the Atlantic slope at elevations around 550 meters as a mini-miniature sized, hot to warm growing epiphyte with simple, cane-like, terete, straight stems and carrying 2 to 4, all along the stem, ascending, smooth, lanceolate, obtuse apically conduplicate below into the base leaves that blooms in the fall on a terminal, occuring only once, sessile, subcorymbose, 1 to 2 flowered inflorescence with much shorter than the ovary, triangular, acute floral bracts and carrying successively opening, resupinate flowers.
"Epidendrum schistostemum belongs to the GROUP Difforme which is characterized by the caespitose, sympodial plants, fleshy, pale green to glaucous leaves, apical inflorescence, sessile, rarely with a short peduncle, one-flowered to corymbose, without spathaceous bracts, fleshy, green to yellowish green, rarely white flowers. The species can be recognized by its relatively short plants, terete stems, 1 to 2 white flowers, entire, widely cordiform lip, the column with prominent apical lateral, obtuse lobes, the margin erose, and separated from the lip by deep sinus, the clinandrium-hood entire, margin dentate. It is similar to Epidendrum gregori Hágsater which has 2 to 3 pale green flowers, a bilobed lip with a wide apical sinus and small oblique indentations on the distal margin; the column is blunt, not separated from the column by a deep sinus, and the column-hood is split in three, the margin irregular-erose. Epidendrum hammelii Hágsater & L.Sánchez has larger flowers, the lanceolate sepals 1.4" [35 mm] long, a reniform lip, the disc thickened into 3 thick, short keels, the column is blunt without prominent lobes or sinus."
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Icones Orchidacearum 11 Plate 1177 Hagsater & Sanchez 2008 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 15 [1] Plate 1502 Hagsater & Sanchez 2015 see recognition section;
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