Epidendrum subnutans Ames & Schweinf. 1930 GROUP Pseudepidendrum SUBGROUP Paniculatum
Photo by © Melania Munoz and The Bosque de La Paz Website
Specimen by © Brenes and The Epidendra Website
TYPE Drawing by © Jimenez, Hágsater & E.Santiago and The AMO Herbario Website
and
Common Name The Not Completely Nodding Epidendrum
Flower Size .6" [1.5 cm]
Found in Costa Rica and Panama in cloud forests at elevations of 1200 to 1750 meters as a medium to giant sized, cool growing epiphyte with simple, cane-like, terete, thin stems carrying 7 to 11, along the apical 1/2 of the stem, lanceolate-elliptic, acuminate, veined, articulate below into the base leaves that blooms in the spring and summer on a terminal, thin, arching, slighly flexuous, slightly papillose, paniculate, lax, many flowered inflorescence provided with a single, prominent, tubular, acuminate bract and triangular-lanceolate, acuminate, generally less than half the length of the ovary floral bracts and carrying 33 to 200 successively opening, resupinate flowers.
Separated by the dark green leaves, the very small flowers and a 4 lobed lip.
"Epidendrum subnulans belongs to the GROUP Pseudepidendrum which is characterized by caespitose plants, cane-like stems, acute to acuminate leaves, usually apical inflorescence, the filiform petals and the lip usually 3-lobed (with 3 parallel fleshy keels), the apical lobe often bifurcate, the "bird-wing" type pollinia, and SUBGROUP Paniculatum which has green flowers, the lip white, the disc sometimes marked with purple. The species is recognized by the paniculate inflorescence, successive, small, green flowers with sepals .16 to .24" [4 to 6 mm long) the lip and apex of the column white, immaculate, with a single callus, the midlobe subquadrate, slightly retuse, forming two triangular, short lobes. Epidendrum longibracteatum Hágsater is very similar but the flowers are simultaneous and the floral bracts on the main branch are are very long, prominent, and the midlobe of the lip is clearly bilobed, with the two lobes separated by a deep sinus. Epidendrum piliferum Rchb.f. has plants with large flowers with sepals .5 to .68" [12.5 to 17 mm] long, green and white, the disc marked with 5 lines of purple dots. Epidendrum horichii Hágsater from has short, generally epiphytic plants, with sepals .28 to .4" [7 to 10 mm] long, and the lip usually marked with purple dots or a pink blotch." Hagsater etal
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; The Genus Epideendrum Ames 1936; The Orchids of Panama L.O. Williams & P Allen 1946; Ceiba Vol 5 No 1 L O Williams 1956; Icones Orchidacearum 3 Plate 302 Hagsater 1999 see recogntion section; Icones Orchidacearum 3 Plate 334 Hagsater & Sanchez 1999 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 3 Plate 347 Hagsater & Sanchez 1999 see recognition section; Manual de las Plantas de Costa Rica Vol 3 Hammel, Grayum, Herrera and Zamora 2003; Icones Orchidacearum 11 plate 1185 Hagsater & Sanchez 2008 drawing fide; Orchids of Costa Rica Vol 3 Morales 2009 photo fide;
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