Epidendrum trilobochilum Hágsater & Dodson 2001 GROUP Excisum SUBGROUP Friderici-guilielmi

Drawing by © Jimenez and The AMO Herbaria Website

Common Name The Three Lobed Epidendrum [refers to the lip]

Flower Size .8" [2 cm]

Found in Colombia and Ecuador on both sides of the Andes in cloud forests at elevations of 2700 to 3250 meters as a small to large sized, cold growing epiphyte and terrestrial on raod embankments with erect, cane-like, new stems arise from near the base of the previous stem, basally terete, laterally compressed above stems carrying 4 to 6, equidistant, all along the apical half of the stem, elliptic, acute, margin entire leaves that blooms in the spring through fall on a terminal, through 1 to 2, narrow, acute, conduplicate spathes enveloping the 3.2 to 5.2" [8 to 13 cm] long, peduncle occasionally provided with 2 bracts similar to the spathes, occuring only once, racemose to paniculate, arcuate, 5.2 to 10.8" [13 to 27 cm] long overall, simultaneously 12 to 20 flowered inflorescence with longer to much longer than the ovary, linear-lanceolate, acuminate floral bracts and carrying resupinate, green to greenish yellow flowers tinted with a red brown flush and the lip is light brown.

"Epidendrum trilobochilum belongs to the GROUP Excisum SUBGROUP Friderici-guilielmi characterized by the sympodial habit, tall, unbranched stems, 3 to 5, unequal leaves, the sub-erect inflorescence with prominent spathe. The species has simple stems, slightly separated at the base, 4 to 5 leaves, 1 to 2 narrow, acute spathes, usually single branched inflorescence, the floral bracts longer to much shorter than the ovaries, resupinate flowers with a deeply 3-lobed lip, the lateral lobes slightly smaller than the cuneate midlobe which is slightly emarginate and mucronate. It has been confused with E. klotzscheanum Rchb.f., which has much larger, many-leaved stems, and fleshier flowers with narrowly elliptic petals, and a narrowly rectangular midlobe of the lip. The plants are similar to but larger than E. fruticetorum Schltr. which is smaller in habit, and has a clearly bilobed midlobe, and erose margins. Epidendrum trilobochilum grows (at least in Ecuador) in the same area as E. trulliforme which is recognized by the trullate lip, and somewhat larger and half-open flowers, the sepals being .68 to .72" [17 to 18 mm] long, and the flowers opening in succession." Hagsater etal 2001

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Icones Orchidacearum 4 Plate 485 Hagsater 2001 see recognition section; * Icones Orchidacearum 4 Plate 494 Hagsater & Dodson 2001 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 4 plate 497 Hagsater & Sanchez 2001 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 4 plate 500 Hagsater & Sanchez 2001 see recognition section; Orquideas, Tesoro de Colombia Vol 2 Ortiz & Uribe 2017 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 17(1) Plate 1721 Hagsater & Jimenez 2019 see recognition section

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