Epidendrum xelidonourum Hágsater & H.Medina 2018 GROUP Biccirhatum
LCDP Photo Hugo Medina/Inflorescence Photo by © Eric Hagsater and The AMO Herbaria Website
Common Name The Swallow-Tail Epidendrum [refers to the shapeof the lip apex]
Flower Size .5" [1 cm]
Found in Morona-Santiago province of Ecuador at elevations around 1000 meters as a mniature to small sized, warm to cool growing epiphyte with cane-like, terete, thin stems carrying 5 to 7 distributed along the apical half of the stem, sub-erect, fleshy, with a tubular, somewhat striated when dry, green, purple tinged, oblong-elliptic, acuminate, smooth, margin entire, deep green, somewhat tinged purple leaves that blooms on a terminal, peduncle terete, thin, short, nearly totally hidden by 3 basal bracts, ca. .6" [15 mm] long, widely ovate, acuminate, embracing bracts, rachis ca. .92" [23 mm] long, terete, thin, short, pluri-racemose, with new racemes over several years from the same arching, dense, successively few, to 12 flowered inflorescence with somewhat shorter than the ovary, triangular-lanceolate, acuminate, gradually shorter floral bracts carrying resupinate, very attractive flowers lacking any fragrance.
" Epidendrum xelidonourum belongs to the GROUP Biccirhatum , a small group of species which has appeared recently and is characterized by the caespitose habit, simple, leafy, short stems, compact, nodding inflorescence, conspicuous bracts about as long as the ovary, numerous fleshy, green and/or white flowers, with the mid-lobe deeply bilobulate, the lobules sometimes cirrate; the pollinia are thin, and unequal, the inner pair smaller, without being of the bird-wing-type. The new species is recognized by very pale greenish white flowers, base of the sepals .26 to .28" [6.4 to 7.0 mm long), petals and column green, column and lip white, lateral lobes of the lip ¼ circle, mid-lobe basal half sub-rectangular, slightly slimmer at the middle, apical half bilobed, lobes linear triangular, acuminate, arching-divaricate, reminiscent of the tail of barn swallows. Epidendrum brachyblastum has narrower, hemi-ovate lateral lobes of lip, and deep green flowers with lip and apical half of column snow white. Epidendrum hugomedinae Hágsater has snow-white flowers with keels of lip tinged violet and obcuneate mid-lobe formed by two, rounded, somewhat divergent, lobes. Epidendrum bicirrhatum D.E. Benn. & Christenson from northern Peru has pale cream-orange flowers with base of the sepals and petals green, tips of keels of the lip lavender, flowers are smaller, sepals being .184 to .28" [4.6 to 5.2 mm]long, and lip has denticulate margins on sub-orbicular lateral lobes, and cirrate lobules on mid-lobe. The Bolivian E. ophidion Dodson & R.Vásquez is quite similar to latter, but has successive, yellow flowers with three purple lines on the disc, pustulate sepals .24 to .32 " [6 to 8 mm] long, and dolabriform lateral lobes with a crenulate margin. Epidendrum tiwinzaënse Hágsater & Dodson species has green flowers with a white lip and apical half of column, and sepals some .28" [7 mm] long, lip terminating in a pair of cirrate lobes. Epidendrum enantilobum Hágsater has green to cream-colored flowers, lip and column white, sepals .16 to .2" [4 to 5 mm] long sepals, lateral lobes falcate-oblong, mid-lobe forming two opposite narrow ciliate lobes" Hagsater etal 2001
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Icones Orchidacearum 16[1] Plate 1616 Hagsater & Santiago 2018 See Recognition section; * Icones Orchidaceaum 16[1] Plate 1666 Hagsater & Sanchez 2018 photos fide; Icones Orchidacearum 16[2] Plate 1690 Hagsater & Sanchez 2018 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 17(1) Plate 1754 Hagsater & Jimenez 2019 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 18(1) plate 1828 2020 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 18(2) Plate 1887 Hagsater & Jimenez 2021 see recognition section
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