Epistephium duckei Huber 1913
Photo by Inkas Routes Peru Orchid Page
Photo by © Eric Christenson
Photo by © Karl Senghas and The Swiss Orchid Foundation at the Jany Renz Herbaria Website
Photo by Carlos Hajek and his Peruvian Orchid Page
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Common Name Ducke's Epistephium [German Plant Collector -Amazon early 20th cen]
Flower Size 2" [5 cm]
Found from Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Brazil and Peru as a large sized, warm to cool growing, reed stem terrestrial on slippery clay slopes, sandy soils and in boggy meadows in grass clumps at altitudes of 600 to 2400 meters with cane-like, erect stems enveloped basally by a few tubular, scarious sheaths and carrying unveined, lanceolate, clasping, acuminate, thick, stiffy coriaceous, basally clasping leaves with a prominently keeled midvein that give rise to a terminal, to 12" [to 30 cm] long, several to many [to 20-25] flowered inflorescence with large, showy, campanulate, successively opening flowers occuring in the spring.
CAUTION!!!!!! This species and E elatum seem to have been confused often in literature of the past. I have not seen the type of either species but I think that I have them right here and in both photos on the E elatum page. If not then they are reversed.
Synonyms Epistephium macrophyllum Schltr. 1921; Epistephium mardenii Ruschi 1969
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Die Orchideen der Sudamerikanischen Kordillerenstaaten IV Peru Schlechter 1921 as E macrophyllum; Flora Brasilica Vol XII II Hoehne 1945 drawing ok; Orchids of Peru Vol 1 Schweinfurth 1958; Venezuelan Orchids Vol 3 Dunsterville & Garay 1965 not = E elatum; Flora de Venezuela Foldats Volumen XV Part 1 1969 drawing ok; Orchidaceae Brasilense Band 1 Pabst & Dungs 1975 drawing fide; Orchid Digest Vol 47 No 4 1983 photo fide as E mardenii; Orchid Digest Vol 58 No 4 1994 photo fide; Icones Orchidacearum Peruviarum Plate 475 Bennett & Christenson 1998 not = E elatum; Orchid Digest Vol 64 #1 2000 photo fide; Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana Vol 7 Steyermark, Berry, Yatskievych and Holst 2003 drawing fide; Orchid Species of Peru Zelenko Bermudez 2009 photo fide; Orchids of the Department of Valle de Cauca Vol 1 Kolanowska and Szachetko 2012 drawing fide; Orquideas de Roirama Luz & Franco 2012 photo okish; Orquideas Tesoro de Colombia Ortiz/Uribe 2017 drawing fide; LANKESTERIANA 20(2): 67–216. Ossenbach & Jenny 2020 drawing fide;
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