Epidendrum simulacrum Ames 1923 GROUP Difforme
Photo by © Eric Hagsater/Drawing by Jimenez and The AMO Herbaria Website
Drawing by © Hamer and The Swiss Orchid Foundation at the Jany Renz Herbaria WebSite
Specimen by © Powell and The Epidendra WebSite
LATER
Common Name The Look Alike Epidendrum [refers to this species similarity to E firmum]
Flower Size .8" [2 cm]
Found in Panama in rainforests at elevations of 1500 to 2200 meters as a miniature to small sized, cool to cold growing epiphyte with simple, cane-like, terete, slightly flexuous stems and carrying 4 to 10, all along the stem, coriaceous, terete, elliptic, retuse apically leaves that blooms in the later spring and summer on a terminal, occuring only once, sessile, subcorymbose, 2 to 6 flowered inflorescence with much shorter than the ovary, widely ovate, acute floral bracts and carrying simultaneously opening, resupinate, green flowers.
The Drawing featured above by Hamer is labeled Neolehmannia curvicolumna which is considered to be a synonym of E simulacron.
"Epidendrum simulacrum belongs to the GROUP Difforme which is characterized by the caespitose, sympodial plants, fleshy, pale green to glaucous leaves, apical, sessile inflorescence, rarely with a short peduncle, single flowered to corymbose, without spathaceous bracts, fleshy, green to yellowish-green rarely white flowers. The species has narrow, elliptic leaves, small, green flowers, the sepals and petals reflexed, an entire, reniform-cordiform lip with subglobose calli, and a strongly arched column, to 90°, wlth a short, erose clinandrium-hood. It is similar to Epidendrum firmum Rchb.f., but that species has larger flowers, spreading sepals and petals, and a 3-lobed lip, with a subquadrate midlobe, prominent, elongate, dlvergent calli, and the column not as strongly arched, with a prominent fimbriate clinandrium-hood." Hagsater etal 2006
Synonyms Epidendrum curvicolumna Ames, F.T.Hubb. & C.Schweinf. 1935; Epidendrum difforme var. simulacrum (Ames) Ames, F.T.Hubb. & C.Schweinf. 1934; Neolehmannia curvicolumna (Ames, F.T.Hubb. & C.Schweinf.) Hamer 1985
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; The Genus Epidendrum Ames 1936 as Epidendrum curvicolumna; The Genus Epidendrum Ames 1936 as E difforme var simulacrum; The Orchids of Panama L.O. Williams & P Allen 1946 as E difforme var simulacrum; Ceiba Vol 5 No 1 L O Williams 1956 as E difforme var simulacron; ORQUIDEA (Méx.) 9(1): 1983 drawing/photo fide; Icones Plantarum Tropicarum Plate 1237 Hamer 1985 as Neolehmannia curvicolumna drawing fide; Field Guide to the Orchids of Costa Rica and Panama Dressler 1993; Icones Orchidacearum 8 Plate 888 Hagsater & Sanchez 2006 drawing ok; Icones Orchidacearum 9 Plate 937 Hagsater 2007 see recognition section; Orchids of Costa Rica Vol 3 Morales 2009 photo fide;
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