IOSPE PHOTOS

Epidendrum floribundum Kunth 1816 GROUP Pseudepidendrum SUBGROUP Paniculatum

Photo by © Ricardo Fernández from USM

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

THROUGH

Common Name or Meaning The Abundant Flowered Epidendrum

Flower Size .8" [2 cm]

Found in northern & central Peru at elevations around 400 to 1200 meters as large sized, hot to cool growing epiphyte with simple, cane-like, terete, erect, straight stems carrying numerous, alternate, articulate, submembraneous, glabrous, spreading, narrowly elliptic, acuminate leaves that blooms in the late fall through winter on a terminal, occuring only once, paniculate, distichous, 6 to 8" [15 to 20 cm] long including the 2" [5 cm] long, straight, thin peduncle with a tubular, acuminate bract at the base, almost simultaneously to 40 flowered inflorescence with some 5 spreading, 1 to 3.2" [2.5 to 8 cm] long, lax, few flowered branches each subtended by a basal, narrowly triangular, acuminate bract, all with half as long as the ovary, linear-triangular, acute, amplexicaul floral bracts.

Most all references make this species a synonym of E paniculatum but new research by Eric Hagsater who has undertaken a great revision of this species complex has separated out 6 species throughout the larger E paniculatum subgroup range and has now revealed the original Peruvian endemic E floribundum that typifies this species.

"Epidendrum floribundum belongs to the GROUP Pseudepidendrum which is characterized by caespitose plants, canelike 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 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 leaves 4 to 4.8"x 1.04 to 1.2" [10 to 12 x 2.6 to 3 cm], lax-flowered inflorescences, relatively long floral bracts, .24 to .48" [6 to 12 mm] long, the small, green flowers with petals and lip white, sepals .4" [10 mm] long, the lip narrower between the sub-quadrate to sub-orbicular lateral lobes than between the apices of the mid-lobe which is formed by a pair of linear, strongly divaricate, opposite, straight lobes. Epidendrum macroceras Schltr. has shorter floral bracts, .04 to .16" [1 to 4 mm] long; the lateral lobes of the lip are dolabriform, and the mid-lobe is formed by a pair of divaricate, falcate, oblong lobes. Epidendrum angaritae Hágsater from northern Colombia, has spreading, greenish brown sepals, the white lip tinged with purple, and somewhat larger flowers with sepals .6 to .68" [15 to 17 mm] long. Epidendrum paniculatum Ruíz & Pavón grows at higher altitudes in northern Peru and neighboring Ecuador, has greenish flowers the lip white with the disc marked with reddish, the mid-lobe of the lip is emarginate producing a pair of opposite, oblong, falcate lobes. Epidendrum christensonii Hágsater & E.Santiago, also found in northern Peru and neighboring Ecuador, has somewhat smaller flowers, sepals .3.04 to .32" [7.6 to 8 mm] long, the 3-lobed lip with the mid-lobe separated from the lateral lobes by shallow sini, column .36" [9 mm] long. Epidendrum lilacinoides Hágsater & E.Santiago has purple flowers with a white lip, the mid-lobe of the lip emarginate forming a pair of linear-oblong, straight lobes. Epidendrum paniculovenezolanum Hágsater & E.Santiago has the dorsal surface of the leaves intense purple colored, larger, greenish brown flowers with sepals .52 to .72" [13 to 18 mm] long, the lip white, immaculate. Epidendrum paniculo-lateribilobum Hágsater, Ric.Fernández et E.Santiago has shorter floral bracts, .04 to .24" [1 to 6 mm] long, the lip is nearly as wide between the clearly bilobed lateral lobes as between the slightly divaricate lobes of the mid-lobe." Hagsater etal 2013

Synonyms

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