Epidendrum verrucipes Schltr. 1918 GROUP Anceps SUBGROUP Polyanthum

Drawing by © Jimenez and The AMO Herbaria Website

MID EARLY

Common Name The Warty Ovary Epidendrum

Flower Size 1" [2.5 cm]

Found in Oaxaca, Guerrero and Chiapas states of Mexico and Guatemala in evergreen forests and wet montane forests a elevations of 1450 to 1800 meters as a medium to large sized, cool growing epiphyte with simple, cane-like, terete, straight stems carrying 7 to 14, all along the upper 2/3rds of the stem, distichous, lanceolate-elliptic,short acuminate, mucronate, slightly carinate, subcoriaceous, evident longitudinally veined leaves that blooms in the mid winter through early summer on a terminal, elongate, racemose becoming pluriracemose in further years, peduncle elongate, 2.4 to 4.8" [6 to 12 cm] long, enveloped by 2 to 5, imbricate, tubular, oblong-triangular, acute bracts, rachis compact, cylindrical, simultaneously 15 to 40 flowered inflorescence with shorter than the ovary, ovate-triangular, acute floral bracts and carrying resupinate, orange-yellow to greenish yellow flowers with a very disagreeable fragrance.

"Epidendrum verrucipes belongs to the GROUP Anceps , wh ich is recognized by the simple stems, generally elongate, co mpound racemose inflorescence producing new successive racemes wilh time, fleshy flowers, filiform to narrowly spatulate petals, and the GROUP Anceps SUBGROUP Polyanthum which has elongate, not subcorymbose racemes. The species is recognized by the terete stems, 1.08" to 1.8" [2.7 to 4.5 cm] wide leaves with evident longitudinal veins when dry, orange-yellow to greenish yellow flowers with a very disagreable odour, ovary densely verrucose-papillose, lip 3-lobed, lateral lobes dolabriform, midlobe rectangular oblong, ovate, slit. Epidendrum polyanthum Lindl. has leaves without evident longitudinal veins, orange-yellow flowers with the sepals and petals unornamented to somewhat verrucose and an agreable fragrance. Epidendrum martinezii L.Sánchez & Carnevali has shorter plants, the leaves distributed along the upper half of the stem, smaller flowers, sepals and petals .28 to .32" [7 to 8 mm] long, orange-yellow, occasionally tinged with brown, the lateral lobes of lhe lip with a shallow sinus, the margin entire, with the apex rounded. Epidendrum tuxtlense Hágsater, García-Cruz & L. Sánchez, has laterally compressed stems, the inflorescence with compact racemes of smaller flowers, sepals and petals .2 to -3" [5 to 7.5 mm] long, the lateral lobes of the lip entire, suborbicular, and the midlobe subquadrate, slightly wider towards the apex." Hagsaer etal 2008

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Icones Orchidacearum 11 Plate 1162 Hagsater 2008 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 11 Plate 1196 Hagsater & Sanchez 2008 drawing fide; Orchid Genera and Species in Guatemala Archila, Szlachchetko, Chiron, Lipinska, Mystkowska and Bertolini 2018

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