Epidendrum villenae Hagsater & E Santiago 2020 GROUP Indanzense

TYPE Drawing by © R Jimenez M and Icones Orchidacearum 18(1) plate 1847 2020

Common Name Villena's Epidendrum [Peruvian Biologist, Janette Karol Villena Bendezu, Her father, Renato Villena Ruiz, founded Agro Oriente Viveros in 1980, also known as Orquídeas Amazónicas current]

Flower Size .6" [1.5 cm]

Found in Cajamarca and Amazonas departments of Peru among mosses a at elevations of 2200 to 3200 meters as a small to medium sized, cold, subcaespitose growing terrestrial or lithophyte with erect, produced from a middle internode of the previous stem below the leaves, rhizomatous part 1.6 to 3.6" x .08 to .2" [4 to 9 x 0.2 to 0.5 cm], the leafy part 3.2 to 7.2" x .6 to .24" [8 to 18 x 0.4 to 0.6 cm], straight to sinuous, rigid, somewhat laterally compressed stems with the rhizomatous part carrying, thin, striated sheaths that disintegrate quickly and carrying on the leafy part, 7 to 10, all along the stem, widely elliptic, apiculate, a low dorsal keel all along, basally conduplicate, very fleshy, reigid and brittle, green on both sides to darker green above and dark purple beneath leaves taht blooms in the spring, summer and fall on a terminal, without a spathe, peduncle .4 to .64 x .08" [10 to 16 x 0.2 cm], sinuous, provided with 3 to 4, progressively smaller, tubular bracts spaced along its length, rachis slightly sinuous, 4.8 to 7.6 " [12 to 19 cm] long overall, distance between flowers up to .28" [7 mm], progressively shorter distally, distichous, one developing at a time, sometimes several buds present in different stages of development, successively single flowered, few flowered inflorescnce with triangular, acuminate, embracing, progressively shorter, much shorter than the ovary floral bracts and carrying non-resupinate, non-fragrant flowers.

"Epidendrum villenae belongs to the new GROUP Indanzense which is recognized by the sympodial, sub-caespitose plants with laterally compressed stems and very rigid leaves, the elongate peduncles of the inflorescence covered by tubular bracts, and a very short rachis with successive flowers similar to those of the Macrostachyum group. The new species is recognized by the fleshy, very brittle, widely elliptic leaves, the lilac flowers with the lip white and the lip lateral margins involute and boat-shaped but sub-cordiform when spread, the calli laminar, small, with a laminar band running down the middle to the apex of the lip. Epidendrum indanzaense known presently only from Ecuador, has green flowers with the lip a lighter green and the lip cordiform when spread, ecallose and without ribs." Hagsater & Santiago 2020

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Icones Orchidacearum 18(1) plate 1847 Hagsater, Santiago 2020 drawing/photo fide;

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