Epidendrum pajitense C.Schweinf. 1949 GROUP Oerstedella SUBGROUP Verrucosum
Photo by © Patricia Harding
Drawing by © Jimenez, Hágsater & E.Santiago and The AMO Herbario Website
Common Name The Pajita Epidendrum [A hill in Panama]
Flower Size 1" [2.5 cm]
Found in central Panama at elevations of 300 to 1100 meters as a medium sized, hot to cool growing epiphyte with erect, simple, thin, terete, cane-like stems with most new stems arising from the middle of the previous, enveloped basally by non-foliaceous, tubular, verrucose sheaths and carrying 8 to 120, distributed throughout the apical half, alternate, articulate, lanceolate-oblong to lanceolate-elliptic, obtuse to subacute, shortly bilobed, entire margined leaves that blooms in the fall and winter on an erect, terminal and lateral, the apical is paniculate, the lateral are racemose, thin, the peduncle, short, terete, rachis, short, terete, slightly flexuous, .8 to 3.6" [2 to 9 cm] long, lax, few flowered inflorescence with much shorter than the ovary, ovate-triangular, acute floral bracts and carrying 2 to 6 per branch or raceme, simultaneously opening flowers.
"Epidendrum pajitense belongs to the GROUP Oerstedella which is characterized by the sympodial habit, mostly verrucose stems, and the rostellum wnlch is perpendicular to the axis of the column instead of parallel, forming a wide, open sinus and without a viscidium, and the SUBGROUP Verrucosum recognized by the small to medium sized, membranaceous flowers with sepals and petals immaculate, a bilobed clínandrium-hood slightly surpassing the body of the column, obovoid, subequal pollinia with long granulose caudides. The species is recognized by the intermediate plants up to 23.8" [58 cm tall] lanceolate-oblong to lanceolate-elliptic leaves to .64" [1.6 cm] wide, the few-flowered inflorescence, the flowers rose-pink outside, brownish white inside. the ra his somewhat flexuous; with sepals .372 to .48" [9.3 to 12 mm] long,, the lip is 3-lobed, the lateral lobes obovate-oblong, truncate to slightly lobed at the apex. It is similar to E lacteum Dressler which has larger flowers with sepals .64 to .68" [16 to 17 mm] long, greenish cream-colored with the lip white, 3- lobed, the lobes rounded at the apex, and the anther with 3 decurrent, thin, keels. Epidendrum verrucosum Sw. which has tall plants, up to 120" [3 meters], paniculate inflorescence with numeous flowers, sepals and petals white or greenish cream and the lip creamy-yellow." Hagsater etal 2006
Synonyms Oerstedella pajitense (C.Schweinf.) Hágsater 1981
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Ceiba Vol 5 No 1 L O Williams 1956; Icones Orchidacearum 8 Plate 866 Hagsater & Sanchez 2006 drawing fide;
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