Epidendrum caribiorum Ackerman & Acev.-Rodr. 2012 GROUP Difforme

Photo by © Mark Nir and Orchidaceae Antillannae.

Drawing of E umbellatum Sw/Syn E cariborum

Drawing by © Jimenez, Hágsater & E.Santiago and The AMO Herbario Website

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Common Name The Carib Epidendrum [a canabalistic and agressive pre-colombian tribe of indians that struck fear in others much like the trepidation that happens to those that venture to identify species within the Difforme group]

Found in Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic and Jamaica in rain and cloud forests at elevations of 350 to 1200 meters as a caespitose, miniature to medium sized, hot to cool growing epiphyte with simple, cane-like, wide, laterally compressed, flexuous stems carrying 4 to 11, green, succulent, entire, lanceolate to broadly elliptic, retuse leaves that blooms mostly in the later spring and early fall on a terminal, on a mature stem, sessile, occuring only once, subcorymbose to subumbellate, simultaneously, densly 4 to 6 flowered inflorescence with shorter than the ovary, ovate, rounded floral bracts.

Similar to and often identified as Epidendrum difforme Jacq. but this one has ancipitose stems, coriaceous leaves and a subquadrate, revolute mid lobe of the labellum.

"Epidendrum caribiorum belongs to the GROUP Difforme which is characterized by the caespitose, sympodial plants, fleshy, pale green to glaucous leaves, apical inflorescence, sessile, rarely with a short peduncle, single flowered to corymbose, without spathaceous bracts, fleshy, green to yellowish-green, rarely white flowers. The species can by recognized by its vigorous plants, wide, somewhat laterally compressed stems, succulent leaves, 4 to 6 flowers, 3-lobed lip, bilobed mid-lobe of the lip with semi-orbicular lobes. Epidendrum difforme Jacq. differs by the ancipitose stems, coriaceous leaves, sub-quadrate, revolute mid-lobe of the lip." as E umbellatum Hagsater etal 2010

Synonyms Epidendrum umbellatum Sw. 1788; Neolehmannia difformis [Jacq.] Pabst 1978

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Die Orchideen Schlechter 1915 as E umbellatum; Die Orchideen 3 Auflage Bd 1 Sonderabdruck aus Schlechter Lieferung 9 513 - 576 Brieger, Maatsch and Senghas 1977 as E umbellatum; Icones Orchidacearum 2 Plate 133 Hagsater 1993 as E umbellatum see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 2 Plate 167 Hagsater 1993 see recognition section as E umbellatum; Iconografia de Orquideas Cubanas Perez & Bocourt 1997 drawing fide; Orchidaceae Antillanae Nir 2000 as E umbellatum; Icones Orchidacearum 4 Plate 401 Hagsater 2001 as E umbellatum see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 4 Plate 429 Hagsater 2001 as E umbellatum see recognition section; The Orchids of Cuba Llamacho & Larramendi 2005 as E umbellatum; Icones Orchidacearum Vol 8 Plate 827 Hagsater & Sanchez 2006 see recognition section;Icones Orchidacearum 13 Plate 1396 Hasater & Salazar 2010 as E umbellatum drawing 0k; Orchid Flora of the Greater Antilles Ackerman 2014

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