Epidendrum stictoglossum Hágsater & D.Trujillo 2007 GROUP Andean SUBGROUP Soratae

TYPE Drawing by © Jimenez and The AMO Herbaria Website

LATE EARLY

Common Name The Tattooed Lip Epidendrum [refers to the reddish purple dots on the lip]

Flower Size 1.4" [3.5 cm]

Found in the departments of Ancash and La Libertad Peru on the Cordillera Blanca and the Cordillera Occidental at elevations of 3600 to 4200 meters as a large to giant sized, cold growing terrestrial or lithophyte with simple, cane-like, terete, thin, straight, keiking occasionally from near the apex of some stems carrying 13 to 26+, all along the stems, alternate, articulate, coriaceous, erect in relation to the stem, linear, sub-acute, minutely apiculate, margin erose-dentate at the apex leaves that blooms in the late spring and early summer on a terminal, occuring only once, racemose, nutant, lax, simultaneously 7 to 8 flowered inflorescence with less than half as long as the ovary, gradually shorter, narrowly triangular, acuminate floral bracts and carrying resupinate flowers with the tepals dorsally reddish-purple, abaxially yellow, densely spotted with reddish dots, a yellow, dotted reddish purple lip and a yellow column.

" Epidendrum stictoglossum belongs to the GROUP Andean SUBGROUP Soratae which is characterized by the branching habit starting on a monopodial primary stem, infundibuliform, rugose leaf-sheaths, lanceolate, aristate, acute leaves, racemose subcapitate inflorescence on a short, thin peduncle, and the bicallose lip. The species is recognized by the scarcely branching, erect stems, linear leaves, erect, subparallel to the stem, with apical margin erose-dentate, yellow flowers somewhat tinged purple, lip dotted in reddish-purple, convex, 3 to 5 lobed, transversely subrectangular midlobe smaller than the reniform lateral lobes, and linear-oblanceolate, narrow petals. It is somewhat similar to Epidendrum sumapacense Hágsater & E.Santiago, which has elliptic leaves, yellow to orange-yellow flowers and an entire, subreniform lip. Epidendrum erosum C. Schweinfurth also has an entire, subcordiform-trapezoid lip dotted with purple-pink, and linear-subspatulate petals. The vegetative habit is reminiscent of Epidendrum stenophyton Schltr. which, however, has narrower leaves, an entire, rhombic-elliptic, concave lip, and narrowly linear petals, Epidendrum connatum Hágsater & E.Santiago is vegetatively similar but the inflorescence is dense, to 17 flowered, lateral sepals connate, petals oblanceolate .12" [3 mm] wide, and lip 3-lobed, midlobe ovate." Hagsater etal 2007

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Icones Orchidaeacrum 9 Plate 992 Hagsater & Trujillo 2007 drawing fide;

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------