Epidendrum violetense Hágsater & Dodson 2001 GROUP Mancum SUBGROUP Mancum

TYPE Drawing by © Jimenez and The AMO Herbaria Website

Common Name The La Violeta Epidendrum [refers to the locality of the type specimen]

Flower Size .6" [1.5 cm]

Found in southern Ecuador in degraded cloud in dry scrub at elevations around 2950 meters as a small to medium sized, cold growing epiphyte with cane-like, branching, erect, somewhat laterally compressed stems carrying 2, at the apex of the stem, coriaceous, narrowly elliptic-oblong, dorsally keeled, unequally bilobed, margin entire leaves that blooms in the fall on a terminal, arising through 2, tubular, oblong, ancipitous, apiculate spathes, racemose, erect, peduncle laterally compressed, non-ornamented, 5.2 to 9.2" [13 to 23 cm] long overall, simutaneously more than 20 flowered inflorescence, with much shorter than the ovary to obsolete floral bracts and carrying resupinate, purple flowers with the lip basally green and with a purple circle and without fragrance data.

"Epidendrum violetense belongs to the GROUP Mancum SUBGROUP Mancum and can be recognized by its lanceolate to narrowly elliptic leaves, peduncle with two long, apiculate bracts, large inflorescence, purple flowers, lip green at the base and with a purple cirde. It's similar to E. mancum, but the latter has shorter and elliptic-ovate leaves, smaller inflorescence, orange and yellow flowers. Epidendrum brachyglossum Lindl., is found at lower altitudes, plants are larger, have linear-lanceolate leaves, and a more or less 3-lobed lip." Hagsater etal 2001

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Icones Orchidacearum 4 Plate 498 Hagsater & Dodson 2001 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 12 Plate 1241 Hagsater 2009 see recognition section;

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