Epidendrum schlimii Rchb.f. 1850 GROUP Epidendropsis SUBGROUP Gracillimum
Photo by © Alexander Moran
Photo by Ecuagenera and their Ecuador Orchid Website
AND
Common Name or Meaning Schlim's Epidendrum [Belgian Orchid Collector 1800's]
Flower Size .35" [8mm]
Found in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Brazil in wet montane forests at elevations of 1000 to 2500 meters as a miniature sized, cool to cold growing epiphyte with short, slender, caespitose, spreading stems enveloped completely by close, tubular, leafless and leaf-bearing sheaths and carrying several to many, distichous, widely spreading, linear-filiform, acute, triquetrous, basally clasping leaves that blooms in the spring and fall on a terminal, suberect to arcuate, branched, [3" [7.5 cm] long, fractiflex, filiform, 1 to few flowered inflorescence arising through a small, lanceolate, conduplicate, carinate spathe and has similar floral bracts.
"Epidendrum schlimii Rchb.f. belongs to the GROUP Epidendropsis SUBGROUP Gracillimum characterized by the sympodial, caespitose, relatively small plants with non-thickened stems, long, paniculate inflorescence, delicate small flowers, and long, narrow, sub-coriaceous leaves. The species is recognized by the plants with shorter, narrower leaves, .4 to 2.2" x .08 to .12" [1 to 5.5 x .2 to .3 cm], inflorescence laxly few-flowered, racemes 2 flowered up to 2" [5 cm] long, dorsal sepals strongly reflexed, parallel to the ovary, and petals filiform.
Epidendrum erica-moroniae has relatively tall plants, 8 to 12" [20 to 30 cm] tall, linear, wide leaves 1.4 to 3.2" x .08 to .2" [3.5 to 8.0 x 0.2 to 0.5 cm], densely many-flowered inflorescence, with racemes .6 to 1.4" [1.5 to 3.5 cm] long, with up to 17 flowers per raceme, flowers greenish brown turning purple-pink, sepals spreading, .184 to .2" [4.6 to 5.0 mm] long, spreading, petals linear, and the ovary forming a elongate vesicle, and the lip entire. Epidendrum gracillimum has plants to 6 to 8" [15 to 20 cm] tall, leaves linear-lanceolate, 1.8 to 2.6" x .08 to .12" [4.5 to 6.5 x .2 to .3 cm], a laxly few-flowered inflorescence, racemes .32 to .6" [0.8 to 1.5 cm] long, with 3 to 5 flowers, petals filiform, and the lip clearly 3-lobed, the mid-lobe itself bilobulate, short and wide. Epidendrum rolfeanum F.Lehm. & Kraenzl. has plants 4.8 to 7.2" [12 to 18 cm] tall, leaves acicular, .16 to .44" x .04 to .08" [4 to 11 x 0.1 to 0.2 mm], inflorescence composed of racemes .2 to .6" [0.5 to 1.5 cm] long, with 3 to 6 flowers, the flowers purple-brown, the disc of the lip greenish yellow, dorsal sepal strongly reflexed, and petals filiform. Epidendrum cryptorhachis Hágsater has by far the tallest plants in the group, to 17.2" [43 cm] tall, leaves 1.12 to 4" x .16 to .32" [2.8 to 10 x 0.4 to 0.8 cm], linear-lanceolate, a densely many-flowered inflorescence with multiple racemes parallel to the rachis, with up to 14 flowers per raceme, lip 3-lobed, petals narrowly spatulate. Epidendrum physophorum Schltr. has small plants, 4 to 6" [10 to 15 cm] tall, leaves 1.4 to 2.4" x .06 to .12" [3.5 to 6.0 x 0.15 to 0.3 cm], racemes of the inflorescence with 5 to 6 flowers, dorsal sepal strongly reflexed and parallel to the ovary, petals filiform and the ovary with a very prominent inflated vesicle." Adapted from E ericamoroniae Icones 15[1] plate 1580 Hagsater etal 2016
Synonyms Epidendrum tenellum Lindl. 1853
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Bonplandia Rchb.f 1854; Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 6: 72 Schlechter 1919; Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 7: 251 Schlechter 1920; Orchids of Peru Vol 2 Schweinfurth 1959; Venezuelan Orchids Illustrated Vol 1 Dunsterville & Garay 1959 drawing fide; Flora de Venezuela Volumen 15 Parte 3 Foldats 1970 drawing ok; Orchids of Venezuela, An Illustrated Field Guide Vol 1 Dunsterville & Garay 1979 drawing fide; Orchids of Venezuela [An illustrated field guide] Vol. 1 Ramiro and Carnevali 2000 drawing fide; Orquideas Nativas del Tachira Cesar Fernandez 2003 photo fide; Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana Vol 7 Steyermark, Berry, Yatskievych and Holst 2003; Machu Picchu Orchids Christenson 2003; Orchids of Bolivia Vol 2 Laelinae Vasquez and Ibisch 2004 drawing ; Orquideologia 24: 3 Ortiz & Hagsater 2005; Icones 15[1] plate 1580 Hagsater etal 2016 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 15 [2] Plate 1587 Hagsater & Sanchez 2016 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 15 [2] Plate 1588 Hagsater & Sanchez 2016 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 15 [2] Plate 1600 Hagsater & Sanchez 2016 see recognition section; Orquideas, Tesoro de Colombia Vol 2 Ortiz & Uribe 2017 Photo fide; Icones Orchidacearum 16[1] Plate 1656 Hagsater & Santiago 2018 See recognition section
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
