Epidendrum septipartitum Hágsater, Dalström & Ruíz Pérez 2013 GROUP Cristatum SUBGROUP Cristatum
Photo by Stig Dalström/TYPE Drawing by © Stig Dalström and The AMO Herbaria Website
LATER 
EARLY
Common Name The Seven Part Lip Epidendrum
Flower Size 1.6" [4 cm] wide
Found on the Cordillera Oriental in northern Peru ar elevations around 2000 meters as a giant sized, cool to cold growing terrestrial with simple, cane-like, terete, erect stems carrying numerous, about 17 at flowering, lower ones deciduous, all along the stem, articulate, distichous, spreading, coriaceous, lanceolate, acute, margin entire leaves that blooms in the later spring and early summer on a terminal, without a spathe, peduncle to 5.2" [13 cm] long, totally hidden by 9, closely imbricated, lanceolate, acute, conduplicate bracts, 16.8" [42 cm] long overall, rachis4 to 4.8" [10 to 12 cm] long, arching-nutant, sub-dense, successively several, 30 flowered inflorescence with much shorter than the ovary, narrowly triangular, acuminate, amplexicaul, blackish brown floral bracts and carrying resupinate, fleshy flowers without fragrance data.
"Epidendrum septipartitum belongs to the GROUP Cristatum which is characterized by the sympodial, caespitose habit, many-leaved stems, apical racemose inflorescence with several large, imbricating bracts, and producing successive racemes over the years from the same peduncle, and the SUBGROUP Cristatum, with generally greenish flowers, the lip with the margin of lateral lobes generally fimbriate-laciniate.The species is recognized by the 13'8" [420 cm] tall stems, many-flowered, sub-dense inflorescences, flowers very fleshy, fuchsia colored, with the lip and apex of the column white, lip 7-digitate, composed of the lateral lobes which are deeply 3-laciniate, and the mid-lobe rectangular-oblong, apex deeply bilobed, forming a pair of small lobes. It is similar to Epidendrum quinquepartitum Schltr. endemic to Bolivia, which has a less deeply divided lip, and thus 5-digitate, the basal lacinia of the lateral lobes wide; bright pink flowers, including the column and lip, with only the disc of the lip white, and stems relatively short, about 32" [80 cm] tall. Epidendrum cristatum Ruiz & Pavón, widespread from Mexico to Brazil has green flowers, sepals more or less mottled with reddish-brown dots. Epidendrum oreonastes Rchb.f., endemic to Bolivia, has a 3-lobed lip, with the lateral lobes entire. Hagsater etal 2013
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Icones Orchidacearum 14 Plate 1485 Hagsater & Santiago 2013 drawing fide;
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