Epidendrum villahermosaense Sierra Ariza & Hagsater 2021 GROUP Secundum SUBGROUP Secundum

LCDP Photo by J. D. Edquén & A. Cisneros and Icones Orchidacearum 18(2) Plate 1896 Hágsater, E.Santiago et Edquén, 2021

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Common Name The Villahermosa Epidendrum [ A town near where the species was discovered]

Flower Size .8" [2 cm]

Found in Tolima department of Colombia on the eastern slope of the Central Cordillera, from near Ibagué north to Villahermosa at elevations of 1700 to 2700 meters as a large to giant sized, sympodial, caespitose terresatrial with simple, cane-like, slightly sinuous, terete stems with the basal half basal half covered by non-foliar sheaths and carrying 8 to 12 distichous, all along the upper half of the stem, with , tubular, smooth, papyraceous, scarious when dry lease sheath bases, oblong-lanceolate, articulate, acute to unequally bilobed, coriaceous, smoot, dark green, margin entire leaves that blooms in the winter , spring and summer on an erect, terminal, without a spathe, peduncle up to 20" [50 cm] long, elongate, straight, covered by 5 to 9 .8 to 1.8" [2.0 to 4.5 cm] long, white, scarious when dry, striated, papyraceous, imbricated, acute bracts, rachis 1.4 to 3.2" [3.5 to 8.0 cm] long, 8 to 24" [20 to 60 cm] long, racemose, cylindrical, sub-spherical, successively 6 to 14, to 25 flowered inflorescence with much shorter than the ovary, triangular, acuminate floral bracts and carrying non-resupinate flowers.

"Epidendrum villahermosaense belongs to the GROUP Secundum SUBGROUP Secundum, which is characterized by the caespitose habit, the erect, simple, cane-like stems, the normally elongate peduncle of the inflorescence, the erect raceme of generally non-resupinate, showy, colorful flowers, and a lip adorned by a complex a callus. The species is recognized by the pink-crimson flowers with a large wide, truncate callus, the sepals .68 to .76" [17 to 19 mm] long, the lateral sepals oblong, apex obliquely acute, the retrorse lateral lobes of the lip deeply lacerate, spreading with the lateral margins entire and strongly revolute, the mid-lobe “Y” shaped, narrow at the base, and spreading towards the apex, with the lateral margins strongly revolute. Epidendrum imperator from Antioquia has somewhat smaller, bright red flowers, sepals .56 to .73" [14 to 18 mm] long, the margins of the lateral lobes of the lip are deeply dentate, and the mid-lobe is entire, sub-quadrate and obtuse. A photograph of Epidendrum imperator was published in 1991 as Epidendrum catillus (Hágsater 1991). Epidendrum acutilobum Hágsater & Uribe-Vélez, from the Cordillera Oriental of Colombia, has pale pink-red flowers, with a large white callus on the lip, sepals .576" [14.4 mm] long, oblanceolate, petals .68" [15.2 mm] long, elliptic-oblanceolate; the massive callus prominent, formed by a massive truncate plate ending in 3 acute tubercules, with a pair of thick elliptic tubercules on top of the plate at the sides of the base that divergently terminate in acute points, the small lateral lobes of the lip, obliquely semi-flabellate, and the mid lobe of the lip triangular acute, margins entire. Epidendrum flabellilobatum Hágsater & Medina-Tr. is somewhat similar in color and floral shape but the flowers are smaller, sepals .44 to .5" [11.0 to 12.5 mm] long, the lip is quite distinct, lateral lobes sub-quadrate to semi-flabelliform, lateral margins entire, revolute, and the mid-lobe flabelliform, apex more or less shallowly emarginate; it ranges along the Cordillera Oriental of the Andes in Colombia." Hagsater etal 2021

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Icones Orchidacearum 18(2) Plate 1897 Hagsater & Jimenez 2021 LCDP Photo/photo fide;

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