Epidendrum tamaense Foldats 1968 GROUP Arbuscula SUBGROUP Incomptum

Drawing by © Jimenez and The AMO Herbaria Website

LATE EARLY and again in EARLY

Common Name The Tama' Epidendrum [A mountain near where the type was collected]

Flower Size 1.6" [4 cm]

Found in Tachira state of Venezuela and Boyaca department of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru at elevations around 2350 to 2700 meters as a large sized, cold growing epiphyte with many branching, arising from the middle internode of the previous stem, cane-like, erect, terete stems enveloped basally by leaf sheath bases and carrying 2 to 4, aggregate towards the apex, unequal, somewhat coriaceous, oblong-elliptic, shortly acuminate, attenuate towards the base leaves that are articulate to the leaf sheaths blooming in the late winter and early spring as well as early summer on a terminal, without a spathe, on a mature stem, occuring only once, arcuate, peduncle 1.6 to 2.4" [4 to 6 cm] long, laterally compressed, ancipitous, naked, [4 to 13 cm] long overall, simultaneously 8 to 17 flowered inflorescence with much shorter than the ovary, triangular, acuminate, navicular, erose margin floral bracts and carrying relatively large, resupinate, green to olive green flowers with purple veins on the lip and a green anther.

"Epidendrum tamaense belongs to the GROUP Arbuscula SUBGROUP Incomptum, which is characterized by the stems produced from the middle of the previous stem, with few, large leaves aggregate near the apex of the stem, the nodding raceme of relatively large, fleshy, basically green flowers, the thin ovary, not forming an inflated vesicle. The species is recognized by the fleshy, large, green to olive-green flowers turning yellowish, the lip marked with purple, the aristate sepals, obtrullate, 3-veined petals, the 3-lobed lip with the lobes subequal in size, the lateral lobes suborbicular, the midlobe obcuneate, deeply emarginate, forming two rounded lobules. The Venezuelan form has somewhat smaller leaves, a slightly shorter, straight column, longer floral bracts, and the flowers with more acuminate, light green tepals, with the column and lip dull peachy yellow to buff with very faint pink venation . The Ecuadorean E. homoion Hágsater & Dodson is similar, but that species is somewhat smaller, the sepals and petals shorter, and the .52 to .64" [14 to 16 x 26 to 28 mm] lip has semiorbicular lateral lobes, and a smaller midlobe. Epidendrum incomptum Rchb.f. and E. yambalense Hágsater & Dodson have acute or apiculate midlobes." Hagsater etal 2006

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Flora De Venezuela Volumen XV Tercera Parte Foldats 1970 drawing fide; Venezuelan Orchids Illustrated Vol 5 Dunsterville & Garay 1972; Orchids of Venezuela, an Illustrated Field Guide Vol 1 Dunsterville & Garay 1979; Icones Orchidacearum 2 Plate 145 Hagsater & Sanchez 1993 see recognition section; Orchids of Venezuela [An illustrated field guide] Vol. 1 Ramiro and Carnevali 2000 drawing fide; Orquideas Nativas del Tachira Fernandez 2003 photo good; Icones Orchidacearum 7 Plate 779 Hagsater and Sanchez 2004 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 8 Plate 891 Hagsater 2006 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 9 Plate 974 Hagsater 2007 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 12 Plate 1210 Hagsater 2009 see recognition section; Orquideas, Tesoro de Colombia Vol 2 Ortiz & Uribe 2017 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 16[2] Plate 1688 Hagsater & Sanchez 2018 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 18(1) plate 1812 Hagsater & Cisneros 2020 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 18(1) plate 1830 Hagsater, Pfahl & Cisneros 2020 see recognition section

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