Epidendrum tripetaloides Hágsater & E.Santiago 2015 GROUP Pleuranthium SUBGROUP Phragmites

TYPE Drawing by © Jimenez Based on Heller and The AMO Herbaria Website

MID

Common Name The Three Petal Epidendrum [refers to the similarity between the 2 petals and the lip]

Flower Size .6" [1.5 cm]

Found in Belize and Nicaragua on the Caribbean hills at elevations of 750 to 1300 meters as a medium to large sized, warm to cool growing epiphyte with a pendent, cane-like, simple, basally terete, slightly laterally compressed above, thin, straight stem carrying 10 to 14, all along the stem, sub-coriaceous, articulate, alternate, sub-erect, ovate-lanceolate, sub-acute, unequally bilobed leaves that blooms in the mid winter on a few, all along the stem in between the leaves, lateral, peduncle very short, completely enveloped by the 3 short, tubular, imbricating sheaths, sub-sessile, single flowered inflorescence and carrying greenish-white flowers.

" Epidendrum tripetalum belongs to the GROUP Pleuranthium , characterized by the caespitose habit, cane- like, elongate stems, several short, lateral inflorescence, and the SUBGROUP Phragmites which has non-branching stems, subsessile, 1 or 2 flowered inflorescences, the flowers green or yellowish green, the ovary somewhat inflated and nearly hidden by 3 to 4 tubular, imbricating bracts. The species is recognized by the stems with ovate-lanceolate, suberect leaves, a single flowered inflorescence, sepals triangular-lanceolate, subacuminate .4 [10 mm] long, linear-oblanceolate lip similar to the petals with a thin keel, and the elongate, semi-tubular clinandrium-hood much surpassing the body of the column. Epidendrum phragmites has spreading, ovate-elliptic to ovate-lanceolate leaves, the inflorescence generally two-flowered, and the lip ovate to rarely 3-lobed with a thick, very fleshy keel. Epidendrum leonii D.E. Benn. & Christenson has much shorter plants 11.2 to 14" [28 to 35 cm] tall, with ianceolate, acute, leaves, a 2-flowered inflorescence the lip clearly 3-lobed, the midlobe triangular, the clinandrium-hood elongate, strongly dentate." Hagsater 2007

Synonyms Epidendrum centroamericanum Molinari 2016; Epidendrum tripetalum Hágsater & E.Santiago 2007; etal 2007

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Icones Orchidacearum 9 Plate 997 Hagsater & Santiago 2007 as E tripetalum drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 11 Plate 1158 Hagsater 2008 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 15[1] Appendix II V Hagsater & Santiago 2015; Orchid Genera and Species in Guatemala Archila, Szlachchetko, Chiron, Lipinska, Mystkowska and Bertolini 2018 as E tripetalum

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