Epidendrum schmidtchenii Hágsater & E.Santiago 2009 GROUP Megalospathum SUBGROUP Inornatum

TYPE Drawing by Jimenez and The AMO Herbaria Website

Common Name Schmidtchen's Epidendrum [German Botanist in Colombia late 1800's]

Flower Size .6" [1.5 cm]

Found only once in the department of Tolima Colombia without locational data and twice in Cundinamarca in mossy cloud forest at elevations around 2800 to 2900 meters as a small to medium sized, cold growing epiphyte with pendent, simple, cane-like, basally terete, somewhat compressed towards the apex stem carrying 9 to 10, all along the stem, articulate, alternate, sub-coriaceous, sub-erect, oblique, linear to linear-lanceolate, short, acuminate, apiculate, margin minutely papillose leaves that blooms in the spring on a terminal, arising through a widely ovate, acute, conduplicate, oblique, the apical margin dentate spathe, racemose, short, erect, peduncle thin, laterally compressed, straight, the basal half hidden by the spathe, simultaneously 7 flowered inflorescence with much shorter than the ovary, triangular-lanceolate, acuminate, amplexicaul floral bracts and carrying resupinate flowers.

"Epidendrum schmidtchenii belongs to GROUP Megalospathum characterized by the caespitose but branching habit, many-leaved stem, fleshy, oblique leaves, a short, few flowered raceme subtended by large semi-ovate spathaceous bracts, resupinate flowers, the column more or less united to the lip, and the SUBGROUP Inornatum, which has long, 3 to 8, narrow leaves, 8:1 to 20:1, and a simple lip. The species is recognized by the small plants with linear to linear-lanceolate leaves, inflorescence racemose about .14" [3.5 mm] long, with a widely ovate bract covering half the peduncle; the ovary inflated with longitudinal, erose, two-winged keels; the lip oblong-elliptic, with a single, bilobed callus. Epidendrum calyptratum has an ovate, acute lip with 2 minute calli, and the sepals are .24" [6 mm] long, and 10 to 12 flowers. Epidendrum calyptratoides Hágsater & Dodson has a semi-lanceolate spathaceous bract covering the whole of the peduncle, and elliptic, acute, bicallose lip, the margin of the clinandrium-hood erose. Epidendrum vareschii Foldats, from western Venezuela, has a longer inflorescence, 3.4" [8.5 cm] long with 2 prominent spathaceous bracts on the peduncle, the ovary inflated without longitudinal keels, and the lip narrowly ovate, with 2 short, laminar calli." Hagsater etal 2009

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Icones Orchidacearum 12 Plate 1290 Hagsater & Santiago 2009 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 14 Plate 1414 Hagsater & Santiago 2013 See recognition section;

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