Epidendrum stallforthianum Kraenzl. 1912 GROUP Anceps SUBGROUP Polyanthum

Drawing by © Jimenez and The AMO Herbaria Website

LATER

Common Name Stallforth's Epidendrum [German Orchid Collector in Mexico 1800- early 1900's]

Flower Size 1.2" [3 mm]

Found in southern Mexico in the state of Vera Cruz in oak forests at elevations of 680 to 1600 meters as a warm to cool growing epiphyte with simple, cane-like, somewhat laterally compressed, straight stems carrying 5 or more, alternate, all along the stem, elliptic, acute, slightly carinate, sub-coriaceous, margin entire leaves that blooms in the later spring on a terminal, pluri-racemose, producing new racemes over years from the nodes of the old inflorescence, peduncle relatively short, with 2 to 3 imbricating, tubular, oblong-triangular, acute bracts, rachis terete, smooth, descending, lax, simultaneously 15 to 25 flowered inflorescence with mostly shorter than the ovary, apically progressively shorter, amplexicaul, ovate-triangular, acuminate floral bracts and carrying resupinate, fragrant [disagreeable - tea leaves] flowers with the tepals brown, the column green basally and white towards the apex and the lip is white with cream to pale brown.

"Epidendrum stallforthianum belongs to the GROUP Anceps , which is recognized by the simple stems, generally elongate, compound racemose inflorescence producing new successive racemes with time, fleshy flowers, filiform to narrowly spatulate petals, and the SUBGROUP Polyanthum which has elongate, not subcorymbose racemes. The species is recognized by the somewhat laterally compressed stems, verrucose-papillose ovary, lax-flowered racemes, the flowers brown, lip creamy-white, disagreeable fragrance, sepals ovate, 5-veined, .4 to .42" [10.0 to 10.5 mm] long, 3-lobed lip, the lateral lobes entire, semi ovate, the midlobe subquadrate, emarginate, with 2 calli prolonged to the middle of the blade, the disc with a prominent central keel. Epidendrum tuxtlense Hágsater, García-Cruz & L.Sánchez, which grows on north-facing slopes in the states of southern Veracruz and northern Oaxaca, along the Gulf of Mexico, has the apical half of stems ancipitose, compact racemes, unornamented ovaries, small, sepals .2 .3" [5.0-7.5 mm] long yellow-orange flowers with the lip pale yellow and the basal half of the column green, the apical half white, seminal fragrance, the lateral lobes of the lip suborbicular to subrectangular and the midlobe oblong-rectangular, with a deep sinus at the apex. Epidendrum polyanthum Lindl. known from Mexico to Honduras has terete stems with yellow-orange flowers, lip with entire lateral lobes." Hagsaer etal 2008

Synonyms Epidendrum heteroglossum Kraenzl. 1921

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Icones Orchidacearum 3 Plate 390 Hagsater 1999 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 11 Plate 1162 Hagsater 2008 see recognition section; Icones Orchidaeacrum 11 Plate 1181 Hagsater & Sanchez 2008 drawing fide;

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