Epistephium williamsii Hook. f. 1865

Plant and Flowers in situ Brazil before and after fire Photos courtesy of © Dalton Holland Baptista photo by © Cassio van der Berg and Orchidstudium

Another Flower Photos courtesy of Dr Leslie Garay Copyright ©, and the Dr Leslie Garay Archives

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Common Name William's Epistephium [Orchid Collector in SE Asia and Freind to Hooker 1800's]

Flower Size 3 to 4" [7.5 to 10 cm]

Found in the Guianas and Brazil in dry savannahs, along watercourses as well as in transitions between fields and forests as a medium sized, hot to warm growing terrestrial with erect, clustered stems carrying mostly apical, very glossy, leathery, oval-oblong to oval-elliptic, very prominently branched, veined, deep green, becoming black when dry leaves that blooms in the spring on an erect, 6" [to 15 cm] long, 5 to 8 successively flowered, often with 2 to 3 open at a time inflorescence and carrying very short lived, somewhat fragrant flowers.

Synonyms Epistephium lucidum Cogn. 1893

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Die Orchideen Schlechter 1915; Flora Brasilica Vol XII II Hoehne 1945 drawing fide; Flora Brasilica Vol XII II Hoehne 1945 as E lucidum drawing good; Iconografia de Orchidaceae Do Brasil Hoehne 1949 as E lucidum drawing good; Encyclopedia of Cultivated Orchids Hawkes 1965 drawing fide; Encyclopedia of Cultivated Orchids Hawkes 1965 as E lucidum; Flora de Venezuela Foldats Volumen XV Part 1 1969 as E lucidum drawing good; Orchidaceae Brasilense Band 1 Pabst & Dungs 1975 as E lucidum drawing ok; Orchidaceae Brasilense Band 1 Pabst & Dungs 1975 drawing fide; Die Orchideen 3 Auflage Bd 1 Sonderabdruck aus Schlechter Lieferung 7 385 - 448 Brieger, Maatsch and Senghas 1975; Schlechteriana Vol 4 No 3 1993 as E lucidum p[hoto fide; Orquideas do Estado do Espirito Santo Ruschi 1997 as E lucidum drawing good; AOS Bulletin Vol 67 No 10 1998 as E lucidum photo fide; Orchids of The Brazilian Central Plateau Menezes 2004 as E lucidum photo fide; As Orquideas da Serra Do Castelo Espirito Santo Brasil Vol 1 Chiron & Bolsanello 2015 Photo fide;

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