Epidendrum weerakitianum Hágsater, O.Pérez & E.Santiago 2013 GROUP Pseudepidenrum SUBGROUP Paniculatum

TYPE Drawing Photo/TYPE Drawing by © Perez and The AMO Herbaria Website

LATE THROUGH EARLY

Common Name Weerakit's Epidendrum [Mr Weerakit Harnpariphan Thai Medical Doctor, and aficianado of Colombian flora current]

Flower Size .8" [2 cm]

Found in southern Colombia on the Cordillera Occidental and in Antioquia and Quindio departments of Colombia at elevations of 1770 to 2050 meters as a large sized, cool to cold growing lithophyte with simple, cane-like, terete stems carrying 12, subcoriaceous, all along the apical half of the stem, alternate, articulate, erect spreading, elliptic, acute, margin entire leaves that blooms in the late summer through early winter on a terminal, without a spathe, paniculate, occuring only once, peduncle 2" [5 cm] long, straight, thin, with a single, lanceolate, acuminate, amplexicaul bract, rachis 3.6" [9 cm] long, lax, simultaneously 10 to 20 flowered inflorescence with much shorter than the ovary, narrowly triangular, acuminate, amplexicaul floral bracts and carrying resupinate flowers with the tepals and the basal half of the column is green, the apical half of the column and the lip are white with 5 reddish purple lines on the ribs and the lobes of the lip are densely spotted with reddish-purple. The fragrance data was not recorded.

"Epidendrum weerakitianum belongs to the GROUP Pseudepidenrum which is characterized by caespitose plants, cane-like stems, acute to acuminate leaves, usually apical inflorescence, the mostly filiform petals and the lip usually 3-lobed, with 3 parallel fleshy keels, the apical lobe often bifurcate, the “bird-wing” type pollinia, at least the inner pair, and the SUBGROUP Paniculatum , which has filiform petals, all pollinia “bird-wing” type, green and white flowers, often marked with purple on the disc of the lip and apex of the column. The species is recognized by the mid-sized plants 26" [65 cm] tall, elliptic leaves, lax, few-flowered inflorescences, green colored flowers with the apex of the column and lip white, the lip with 5 ribs stained with purple, the reddish-purple spots spilled out towards the base of the lateral lobes. Epidendrum paniculorotundifolium Hágsater, M.Kolanowska & E.Santiago has similar plants, but with elliptical-orbicular leaves, green colored flowers with the column and lip white, disc of the lip with three ribs, immaculate. Epidedrum kolanowskae Hágsater, O.Pérez et E.Santiago has elliptic leaves, green colored flowers, with the apex of the column and lip white, the lip with three ribs and the disc stained of purple pale around the ribs of the disc and incipiently spilled out over the lobes of the lip. Epidendrum paniculatum Ruiz & Pav. has smaller flowers, with the sepals .4 to .48" [10 to 12 mm] long, the lateral lobes of the lip sub–orbicular, and the mid-lobe formed by two linear-oblong, falcate, strongly divaricate lobes, the 3-ribbed disc is immaculate and surrounded by reddish-purple marks." Hagsater etal 3013

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Icones Orchidacearum 14 Plate 1447 Hagsater & Santiago 2013 See recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 14 Plate 1467 Hagsater & Sanchez 2013 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 14 Plate 1469 Hagsater & Sanchez 2013 see recognition section; * Icones Orchidacearum 14 Plate 1495 Hagsater, Perez & Santiago 2013 drawing/photo fide; Orchids of the Department of Valle De Cauca Colombia Vol 2 Kolanowska, Hagsater etal. 2014 drawing fide; Orquideas, Tesoro de Colombia Vol 2 Ortiz & Uribe 2017 photo fide

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