Epidendrum urraoense Hágsater GROUP Geminiflorum
Photo and TYPE Drawing by © R Jimenez and The AMO Herbaria Website
Common Name The Urrao Epidendrum [A town in northwestern Antioquia Colombia near where the type was collected]
Flower Size 1.4" [3.5 cm]
Found in northwestern Antioquia department of Colombia on the western slope of the Cordillera Occidental on the Pacific watershed at elevations around 2440 meters as a medium sized, cold growing epiphyte with a creeping basally, arching to erect above, new stems arise from the 3rd or 4th internode of the previous stem, slightly flexuous, laterally compressed stems carrying 12 to 14, distichous, all along the stem, sub-coriaceous, articulate, narrowly lanceolate, acuminate leaves that blooms in the spring and summer on a terminal, through a tubular, conduplicate, acute spathe, on a mature stem, racemose, erect, peduncle 1.4" [3.5 cm] long, enveloped almost completely by the spathe, 3.2" [8 cm] long overall, simultaneously 3 to 4 flowered inflorescence with much shorter than the ovary, triangular, acuminate floral bracts and carrying resupinate, pink, sparkly flowers with the column and lip white.
"Epidendrum urraoense is part of GROUP Megagastrium SUBGROUP Megagastrium characterized by the sympodial habit, with new stems arising from the middle node of the previous one, a prominent round to ovate spathe, few non-resupinate flowers and a papillate, excavated disc of the lip. The species is recognized by the repent habit, the many-leaved stem with narrowly lanceolate leaves, few-flowered inflorescence enveloped in a tubular, conduplicate, acute spathe, the cordate, obpandurate lip and the ligulate-oblanceolate petals, the flowers being pink with a white column and lip. It is closely related to Epidendrum maderoi from the highlands in Antioquia around Medellín and the eastern cordillera highlands in Cundinamarca which has yellow-green flowers with shorter ovaries. In herbarium specimens they may be at first confused with the Epidendrum geminiflorum Kunth group, due to the few, non- resupinate flowers with a spathe, but the many lanceolate leaves are indicative of the E. maderoi group." Hagsater etal 1999
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Icones Orchidacearum 3 Plate 394 Hagsater 1999 drawing fide; Orchids of the Department of Valle De Cauca Colombia Vol 2 Kolanowska, Hagsater etal. 2014 drawing/photo fide; Orquideas, Tesoro de Colombia Vol 2 Ortiz & Uribe 2017; Icones Orchidacearum 17(2) Plate 1779 Hagsater & Jimenez 2019 see recognition section;
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