Epidendrum urbanianum Cogn. 1910 GROUP Aquaticum
Photo by Pierre Courtinard/Drawing by © R. Jiménez M and The AMO Herbario Website
Common Name Urban's Epidendrum [German Botanist later 1800's - early 1900's]
Flower Size
Found in Guadelupe, Martinique and St Kitts & Nevis and Anguilla within the windward lesser Antilles at elevations of 1080 to 2150 meters in elevations as a medium sized, cool to just cold growing terrestrial or lithophytic orchid with branching, cane-like, terete, erect, main stem 4 to 5 times longer than the branches, all covered by non-foliar, tubular, scarious and becoming fibrous with age sheaths, slightly sinuous stems and carrying numerous on the main stem, distributed throughout, up to 6 on the branches, alternate, articulate, spreading, coriaceous, tubular, striated, rugose sheaths oblong-lanceolate, rounded, margin entire leaves that blooms in the spring through summer on a terminal, without a spatheshort, flowering only once, peduncle very short, rachis sinuous, 1.6 to 4" [4 to 10 cm] long, racemose to paniculate, arching, laxly 8 to 17 flowered inflorescence with prominent, somewhat recurved, as long as the flower or slightly shorter, widely ovate-triangular, cymbiform, apex acute, spaced one from the other, distichous floral bracts and carrying non-resupinate, distichous, fleshy, green or yellow-green flowers without fragrance data.
"Epidendrum urbanianum belongs to the GROUP Aquaticum which is characterized by the monopodial, branching habit, the distichous, erect inflorescence, with fleshy flowers, and the disc of the lip and/or nectary often pilose. The species is recognized by the sinuous rachis and the floral bracts nearly as long as the flower .2 to .48" [5.0 to 12 x 7.0 to 10 mm], oblong-lanceolate leaves 1 to 3.8" x .4 to .8" [2.5 to 9.5 x 1.0 to 2.0 cm], sepals .28 to .4" [7.0 to 10 x 2.5 to 4.5 mm] long, petals linear, .22 to .28" x .4 to .6" [5.5 to 7.0 x 1.0 to 1.5 mm], and the column geniculate with respect to the ovary, forming a 90° angle, and lip with a single, small callus, the apex bilobed. Epidendrum reclinatum Carnevali & I.Ramírez has lanceolate leaves 1.4 to 2" x .32 to .44" [3.5 to 5.0 x 0.8 to 1.1 cm], the inflorescence erect to slightly arching, the rachis straight, floral bracts prominent but never as long as the flower, .24 to .28" x .12 to .2" [6.0 to 7.0 x 3.0 to 5.0 mm], sepals .28 to .32" [7.0 to 8.0 mm] long, petals narrowly spatulate, .26 to .32" x .084 to .104" [6.5 to 8.0 x 2.1 to 2.6 mm]. Epidendrum alsum Ridl. has very fleshy leaves, ovate, 1 to 1.72" x .52 to .72" [2.5 to 4.3 x 1.4 to 1.8 cm], a deflexed inflorescence, rachis straight to slightly sinuous, floral bracts slightly longer than the ovary, but shorter than the flower, .2 to .24" x .16 to .2" [5.0 to 6.0 x 4.0 to 5.0 mm]; sepals .32 to .36" [8.0 to 9.0 mm] long, petals narrowly oblanceolate .28 to .36" x .76 to .84" [7.0 to 9.0 x 1.9 to 2.1 mm]. Epidendrum montigena Ridl. has oblong leaves, .8 to 1.4" x .24 to .4" [2.0 to 3.5 x 0.4 to 1.0 cm], a nutant inflorescence, rachis straight, and pink colored flowers, floral bracts .16 to .24" x .14 to .16" [4.0 to 6.0 x 3.5 to 4.0 mm], sepals .26 to .36" [6.5 to 9.0 mm], petals .24 to .32" x .08 to .1" [6 to 8 x 2 to 2.5 mm], oblong-elliptic with the margin along apical half dentate. Epidendrum carnosum Lindl. has an erect inflorescence and a straight rachis, small floral bracts, never longer than the ovary, .16 to .2" [4 to 5 mm] long, and lanceolate leaves with the apex acute. Epidendrum dendrobioides Thunb. has an erect inflorescence, rachis slightly sinuous in dry specimens, floral bracts always shorter than the flowers, .16 to .28" x .12 to .2"[4 to 7 x 3 to 5 mm]; leaves linear-lanceolate, .14 to .24" x .24 to .52" [3.5 to 6.0 x 6.0 to 1.3 mm, and lip bicallose, the calli thin convergent towards the apex, forming a “Y” with a narrow mid rib in between the calli." Hagsater etal 2018
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Icones Orchidacearum 16[1] Plate 1612 Hagsater & Santiago 2018 See recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 16[1] Plate 1647 Hagsater 2018 See recognition section Icones Orchidacearum 16[1] Plate 1664 Hagsater & Santiago 2018 drawing/photo fide
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