Epidendrum amethystinum Rchb.f. 1867 GROUP VentricosumPhoto by Ecuagenera and their Ecuador Orchid Website

LATER

Common Name or Meaning The Purple Epidendrum

Flower Size .8" [2 cm]

Found in Ecuador on the upper western slopes in wet montane forests at elevations of 1200 to 1600 meters as a mini-miniature sized, warm growing epiphyte with simple, short, somewhat laterally thickened and compressed, cane-like stems carrying 3 to 5, lowermost deciduous during blooming, alternate, all along the stem, articulate, elliptic, bilobed apically, coriaceous, smooth, green, slightly tinged purple leaves that blooms in the late spring on a terminal, flowering only once, arching, short, 8 to 11 flowered inflroescence arising on a mature stem through a sub rectangular, conduplicate, apically rounded spathaceous bract which envelopes it completely and has much shorter thant he ovary, short, triangular, acute flora lbracts and carrying successively opening resupinate flowers opening towards the apex of the inflorescence first and then towards teh base.

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Xenia Orchidaceae vol 2 Rchb.f 1870 drawing; Native Ecuadorian Orchids Vol 2 Dodson 2001 photo fide; Icones Orchidacearum 13 Plate 1302 Hagsater& Sanchez 2010 drawing fide

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