Epidendrum tenuispathum C.Schweinf. 1952 GROUP Excisum SUBGROUP Excisum

TYPE Drawing by © Schweinfurth

Common Name The Thin Spathe Epidendrum

Flower Size 1" [2.5 cm]

Found in Huancavelica department of Peru on trees in cloud forests at elevations around 2900 meters as a medium to large sized, cold growing epiphyte with stout, leafy stems enveloped completely by leaf bearing sheaths carrying numerous, distichous, widely spreading, lanceolate to elliptic-lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, acute, minutely apiculate, basally amplexicaul leaves that blooms on a terminal, erect, arising through a loose, scarious,conduplicate spathe, shortly pedunclate, loosely paniculate almost to the base, rachis 6.4" [16 cm] long, each branch several flowered, many flowered inflorescence with linear-lanceolate, scarious floral bracts carrying small, dark red, spreading flowers with a pink to white lip.

"Epidendrum tenuispathum C. Schweinf. belongs to the GROUP Excisum SUBGROUP Excisum which is characterized by the sympodial, caespitose habit, canelike stems with numerous leaves, the inflorescence racemose or an open panicle with few, elongate branches, the 1-2 large spathaceous bracts at the base of the inflorescence, and the 3-lobed lip and medium sized flowers. The species is recognized by the terete stem, lanceolate, acute, dark green leaves with the underside reddish, with an erect, paniculate inflorescence, and the lip is wider than long. Epidendrum lesteri has terete stem, lanceolate, acute, dark green leaves with the underside reddish, the pink colored, subacute spathe, nutant, densely f1owered inflorescence branching near the base into several similar racemes, and the greenish, pale burgundy-red tinged flowers; the lip deeply cordate. It closely resembles Epidendrum orthoclinium which has narrower leaves, a more lax-flowered inflorescence, smaller, greenish yellow flowers, acute petals, and the clinandrium hood upturned, with the margin erose. Epidendrum excisum Lindl. has laterally flattened stems, an erect, lax-flowered paniculate inflorescence, the light yellowish-green flowers more or less tinged with copper." Adapted from E lesteri Icones 7 Plate 754 Hagsater etal 2004

Synonyms Epidendrum reflexilobum C.Schweinf. 1943

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Icones Orchidacearum 7 Plate 754 Hagsater & Sanchez 2004 aee recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 9 Plate 936 Hagsater 2007 see recognition section;

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