Epidendrum schunkei D.E.Benn. & Christenson 1998 GROUP Difforme
Photo by © Lourens Grobler
TYPE Drawing by Pastorelli, Bennett & Christenson
to
Common Name Schunke's Epidendrum [Original Collector of Species current]
Flower Size 1.6" [4 cm]
Found in Tumbes department of Peru in seasonally dry forests at lower elevations as a medium sized, hot growing epiphyte with erect stems enveloped by distichous, imbricating, conduplicate leaf-bearing sheaths each carrying, alternate, distichous, oblong-elliptic, emarginate, recurved leaves that blooms in the fall through winter on a terminal, subsessile, umbellate inflorescence arising through a complanate, subinflated, tubular spathe and carrying 4 to more flowers.
Roots can appear from the axils of the leaves all along the stem in this species.
"Epidendrum schunkei D.E.Benn. & Christenson 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 ancipitose stems, producing roots throughout the stems, the flowers are brilliant green, sepals and petals lanceolate-acuminate, lip oblong-elliptic, apex. Epidendrum rhizomaniacum has ancipitose stems, also roots from the basal and appearing to sprout from the leaves throughout the stems, 2 to 3 white, simultaneous flowers, ovate, oblong lip with sinuate margin, two laminar calli, clinandrium-hood prominent, conic with margin dentate. Vegetatively similar to the Epidendrum apaganum but its flowers are very different in form, size and color and don't have roots in the nodes of the stems." adapted from E rhizomaticum Icones 13 Plate 1380 Hagsater etal 2010
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Icones Orchidacearum Peruviarum Plate 471 Bennett & Christenson 1998 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum Part 13 Plate 1380 Hagsater 2010 see recognition section; LANKESTERIANA 14(1) 2014;
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