Epidendrum warszewiczii Rchb.f. 1852 GROUP Eximium

Drawing By Reichenbach 1854

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Common Name Warscewicz's Epidendrum [Polish Orchid Collector 1800's]

Flower Size

Found in Costa Rica with a slender stem carrying a few thick, linear-ligulate, obtuse, and unequally bilobed apically leaves that blooms on a terminal, short, pendulous, reflexed, several to many flowered, racemose inflorescence with the flowers held in a loose apical corymb.

"Epidendrum warszewiczii Rchb.f. belongs to the GROUP Eximium which is characterized by the relatively small plants, to 16" [40 cm tall], the sympodial, non-branching, few-leaved stems, the apical, generally racemose inflorescence always short, shorter than the apical leaf, the bell-shaped, showy, greenish yellow or green with brown or purple tinted flowers, the lip entire, and very small calli. The species is recognized by the linear-lanceolate leaves but the apex is obtuse and bilobed, the flowers probably pale reddish-purple, the sepals and petals nearly closed with the apex recurved, about 1.28" [32 mm] long, and the lip slightly 3-lobed but obovate in general outline, with the margin denticulate. Epidendrum sobraloides also has linear-lanceolate, acute leaves .2 to .4" [5 to 10 mm] wide, the concolor, yellow lip, the partly spreading, 1.16 to 1.36" [29 to 34 mm] long sepals and petals with the apex recurved, and the obovate lip with the margins spreading, not embracing the column. Epidendrum eximium L.O. Williams has lanceolate to elliptic, .4 to 1.2" [10 to 30 mm] wide leaves, .72 to 1" [18 to 25 mm] long sepals and petals, partly spreading, the apex straight, and the suborbicular, ovate lip tinged with reddish-purple, with the base embracing the apex of the column. Adapted from Plate 1179 Hagsater etal 2008

Synonyms

ReferencesW3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Xenia Orchidaceae Rchb.f 1854 drawing; The Genus Epidendrum Ames 1936; The Orchids of Panama L.O. Williams & P Allen 1946; Ceiba Vol 5 No 1 L O Williams 1956; Field Guide to the Orchids of Costa Rica and Panama Dressler 1993; Icones Orchidacearum Vol 11 Plate 1179 Hagsater & Sanchez 2008 see recognition section

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