Epidendrum sumacoense Hágsater & Dodson 1993 GROUP Andean SUBGROUP Sumacoense TYPE for the subgroup

TYPE Drawing by © Jimenez and The AMO Herbaria Website

Common Name The Cerro Sumaco Epidendrum [A mountain in Napo province of Ecuador]

Flower Size .8" [2 cm]

Found in the province of Napo Ecuador in montane forests at elevations of 3100 to 3300 meters as a giant sized, cold growing terrestrial with subapically branching, erect, straight, terete, branches much shorter than main stem, branches branch again, 4 branches per stem carrying all along the stem, sub-coriaceous, ovate, rugulose on the top, striate on the back [preserved leaves], bi-lobed leaves that blooms in the fall on a terminal, occuring only once, arcuate-pendulous, without a spathe, 1.2 to 2.8" [3 to 7 cm] long, provided with one foliaceous, bract near the base, successively to 5, 10 to 12 flowered inflorescence with triangular, acuminate floral bracts and carrying creamy white, fragrant flowers with the sepals tinged reddish and slightly spotted on the outside.

"The subapical branching and 3-lobed lip places E. sumacoense in the GROUP Andean SUBGROUP Sumacoense characterized by the monopodial branching habit, cane-like stems, branching sub-apically, the branches shorter than the main stem, leaves coriaceous to sub-coriaceous and fleshy flowers, the lip entire or 3-lobed. It is distinguished from other taxa by the single, branching vein of the cuneate, finely erose-denticulate petals, the lateral lobes of the lip smaller than the midlobe , obliquely ovate, with the external margin erose-denticu­late, the midlobe with a long, straight isthmus and two divergent, small, apical, subquadrate lobes with the apical margin oblique and deeply erose-denticulate, and the sinus between them apiculate. Epidendrum sumacoense is closely related to E . pichinchae Schltr., which has the midlobe of the lip rhombic-ovate and acuminate" Hagsater etal 1993

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Icones Orchidacearum 2 Plate 188 Hagsater & Salazar 1993 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 4 Plate 453 Hagsater 2001 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 7 Plate 736 Hagsater and Sanchez 2004 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 12 Plate 1274 Hagsater 2009 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 14 Plate 1419 Hagsater & Santiago 2013 See recognition section;

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