Epidendrum talamancanum (J.T.Atwood) Mora-Ret. & García Castro 1990 publ. 1991 GROUP Epidanthus
Photo by © Bogarin/Drawing by © Atwood, Used under permission of Epidendra Website CR
Drawing by © Jimenez, Hágsater & E.Santiago and The AMO Herbario Website
LATER
THROUGH EARLIER
Common Name The Talamanca Epidendrum [A cordillera of mountains in Costa Rica and Panama]
Flower Size .6" [1.5 cm]
Found in Costa Rica and Panama at elevations of 750 to 2100 meters as a small sized, warm to cold growing epiphyte or rarely terrestrial with simple, produced from the basal nodes of the previous stem, cane-like, terete, thin, erect, straight stems carrying 6 to 14, all along the stem, alternate, more or less fleshy, commonly erect-spreading, deciduous basally, linear to linear-lanceolate, subacute, articulate below into the base leaves that blooms in the mid winter through earlier fall on a terminal, occuring only once, racemose, distichous, secund, fractiflex rachis, lax, successively, 6 to 10 flowered inflorescence with a bract in the middle, similar to the shorter than the ovary, ovate-triangular, acute floral bract.
"Epidendrum talamancanum belongs to the GROUP Epidanthus, which is characterized by short small, somewhat scandent plants with very thin stems, very narrow, more or less fleshy leaves, with a small, narrowly triangular, acute ligule opposite the blade, an apical, distichous, usually secund inflorescence, and 2 or 4 pollinia. The species is recognized by the tall plants 5.6 to 12" [14 to 30 cm] tall, with linear to linear-lanceolate leaves,.028 to .92" [0.7 to 2.3 mm] wide, flowers generally white to cream-colored, sepals reflexed .16 to .28" [4.2 to 7 mm] long and the petals porrect, linear-oblanceolate, dilated and thickened at the base but not auriculate, the 3-lobed lip with a single callus and 3 low keels, the lateral lobes triangular-rounded. It is very similar to Epidendrum muscicolum Schltr. which has plants of the same size but narrower, acicular leaves .02 to ,04" [0.5 to 1 mm] wide, somewhat shorter sepals, .12 to .24" [3 to 6 mm] long, the petals linear-oblong, with a prominent, fleshy, auriculate, circular knob at the base, the lip is similarly lobed, but with a single low keel in front of the callus." Hagsater etal 2007
Synonyms *Epidanthus talamancana J.T.Atwood 1989
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Icones Plantarum Tropicarum Plate 1315 Atwood 1989 as Epidanthus talamancana drawing fide; Rudolf Schlechter Die Orchideen Band 1C lieferung 42 - 43 pg 2626 - 2762 Brieger 2001 as Epidanthus talmancana; Manual de las Plantas de Costa Rica Vol 3 Hammel, Grayum, Herrera and Zamora 2003; Vanishing Beauty, Native Costa Rican Orchids Vol 1 Pupulin 2005 photo fide; Icones Orchidacearum 9 Plate 943 Hagsater 2007 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 9 Plate 946 Hagsater 2007 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 9 Plate 962 Hagsater 2007 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 9 Plate 995 Hagsater & Sanchez 2007 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 9 Plate 998 Hagsater 2007 see recognition section;
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