Epidendrum williamsii Dodson 1977 GROUP Difforme
Photos by © Karl Senghas and The Swiss Orchid Foundation at the Jany Renz Herbaria Website
Drawing by © Hagsater and The AMO Herbaria Website
Common Name Williams's Epidendrum [American at Florida State University Botany Professor current]
Flower Size 1 1/8" [2.75 cm]
Found in western Ecuador in wet montane cloud forests at elevations of 450 to 700 meters as a miniature sized, hot to warm growing epiphyte with cane-like, laterally compressed stems enveloped completely by imbricating leaf-bearing sheaths and carrying several, linear-lanceolate, obtuse, basally clasping leaves with inflated leaf sheaths that blooms at most any time of the year on a terminal, sessile, successively 1 to 5 flowered inflorescence with up to 2 to 3 flowers open at any one time.
CAUTION!!! I am not entirely convinced that the photo determination is correct so please use caution! The absolutely correct drawing depicts a lip that is bilobed not trilobed and shows 2 basal calli. Everything else about this plant seems correct.
"Epidendrum williamsii belongs to the GROUP Difforme which is characterized by the caespitose, sympodial plants, fleshy, pale green to glaucous leaves, apical inflorescence, sessile, rarely with a short peduncle, one-flowered to corymbose, without spathaceous bracts, fleshy, green to yellowish-green rarely white flowers. The species can be recognized be recognized by its laterally compressed stems, 1 to 3 small, successive flowers, ovary trigonous, lip reniform, emarginate. It is very similar vegetatively to Epidendrum werffii Dodson & Hágsater which is found in the same area, but that species has 1 to 2, larger flowers, sepals 3.6 [90 mm] long and petals lanceolate, acuminate." Hagsater etal 2010
Synonyms Neolehmannia williamsii (Dodson) Dodson 1984
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Selbyana 2:53 Dodson 1977 drawing fide; Icones Plantarum Tropicarum Plate 098 Dodson 1980 drawing good; Icones Orchidacearum 13 Plate 1398 Hagsater & Santiago 2010 See recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 13 Plate 1399 Hagsater & Sanchez 2010 drawing good; Orquideas, Tesoro de Colombia Vol 2 Ortiz & Uribe 2017 drawing hmm;
----------------------------------------------------------------------
