Epidendrum villegastigma Hágsater & García-Cruz 1999 GROUP Ramosum SUBGROUP Platystigm
Photo by © Melania Munoz and The Bosque de Paz Website
TYPE Drawing by © Jimenez, Hágsater & E.Santiago and The AMO Herbario Website
LATE 
EARLY 
Common Name The Alto de Villegas E platystigma Subgroup Epidendrum [refers to the occurence and its Placing within Epidendrum]
Flower Size .6" [1.5 cm]
Found in Costa Rica in cloud forests at elevations around 1250 to 1550 meters as a large sized, cool growing epiphyte with branched, terete, cane-like stems carrying larger and deciduous on the main stems, smaller and persistent on the branches, elliptic-lanceolate, obliquely bilobed, rounded leaves that blooms in the late spring and early summer on a terminal, from the branches, occuring only once, racemose, distichous, erect to arcuate, .6 to 1.2" [1.5 to 3 cm] long, simultaneously 3 flowered inflorescence with conduplicate, longer than the ovary, widely ovate, acute floral bracts.
Distinguished by the narrowly elliptic leaves, on the branches .8 to 2" [2 to 5 cm] long by .4" [1 cm] wide, a racemose inflorescence, non-imbricate floral bracts, white flowers, with .08 to .12" [2 to 3 mm] wide, acute, mucronate sepals, a semi-orbicular lip with a heart-shaped base and a laminar, tridentate callus with a straight column and ovary.
"Epidendrum villegastigma belongs to the GROUP Ramosum SUBGROUP Platystigm and is recognized by its smaller leaves, small greenish flowers, white lip, straight, obconic column, and .22 to .3" [5.5 to 7.5 mm] long sepals. Epidendrum penneystigma has leaves of the main stem 4.4" [11 cm] long, white flowers and .42 to .46" [10.5 to 11.5 mm] long sepals. Epidendrum campbellstigma Hágsater & Carda-Cruz has apple green flowers, white lip, ovate, .36 to .44" [9 to 11 mm] long sepals and the clinandrium entire. Epidendrum jefestigma Hágsater & Carda-Cruz, has greenish white flowers, .36 to .52" [9 to 13 mm] long sepals and a suborbicular lip with a bidentate callus." Hagsater etal 1999
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Icones Orchidacearum 3 Plate 397 Hagsater, Sanchez and Gasrcia-Cruz 1999 drawing fide; Manual de las Plantas de Costa Rica Vol 3 Hammel, Grayum, Herrera and Zamora 2003;
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
