Epidendrum zosterifolium F.Lehm. & Kraenzl. 1899 GROUP Alpicolum

Photo by © Lourens Grobler

Drawing

Drawing by © Jimenez, Hágsater & E.Santiago and The AMO Herbario Website

Common Name The Strap-Shaped Leafed Epidendrum

Flower Size .6" [1.5 cm]

Found in Ecuador in dense forests on the eastern slopes of the Andes at elevations of 1800 to 2000 meters as a small sized, cool growing terrestrial or lithophyte with a simple, cane-like, flexuous, ancipitous stem carrying 3 to 7, oblong, unequally bilobed apically, subcoriaceous leaves that blooms in the fall on a terminal, erect, 5" [12.5 cm] long, racemose, arching, foxtail-like, many flowered inflorescence with as long to twice as long as the ovary, acuminate floral bracts and carrying successively opening, the middle ones opening first flowers with a spicy, strong, diurnal fragrance.

"Epidendrum zosterifolium belongs to the GROUP Alpicolum which is recognized by the simple stems, long, narrow spathes, and numerous flowers with a fleshy lip, triangular midlobe and roundish lateral lobes. The species has sepals .2 to .28" [5 to 7 mm long, greenish white flowers, with the apical half of sepals and lip deep green, the prominent funnel-shaped, bilobed, erose clinandrium, with a strong, daytime, spicy fragrance, leaves oblong, bilobed. Epidendrum alpicolum has larger flowers, sepals .72" [18 mm] long, leaves .72" [18 mm] wide, clinandrium hood short, and lateral lobes of lip with the margin erose. Epidendrum pucunoense Hagsater Dodson has a similar prominent clinandrium hood, but smaller flowers, sepals .16 to .2" [4 to 5 mm] long, and the lateral lobes af the lip proportionately much larger." Hagsater etal 2008

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Icones Orchidacearum 4 plate 406 Hagsater & Salazar 2001 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 4 plate 434 Hagsater & Salazar 2001 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 4 plate 476 Hagsater & Salazar 2001 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum Vol 11 Plate 1199 Hagsater & Sanchez 2008 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum Vol 11 Plate 1199 Hagsater & Sanchez 2008 drawing fide

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