Epidendrum chioneum Lindl 1845 GROUP Soratae SUBGROUP Scabrum Photo by © NO PHOTO

Common Name The Snow White Epidendrum

Flower Size .6" [1.5 cm]

Found in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru at elevations of 2300 to 2800 meters as a large sized, cool to cold growing terrestrial with simple to more usually branched stems entirely enveloped by close, tubular leaf sheaths and carrying numerous, distichous, ovate-lanceolate to oblong lanceolate, obtuse to apiculate, sessile and basally clasping leaves that blooms on a short and usually nodding, 3" [7.5 cm] long, densely many flowered inflorescence

The photo above corresponds to the epiteth E zipaquiranum which if standing alone has yellow flowers, the true E chioneum has snow-white flowers.

Very similar to E connatum but differs as far as I can tell only in the divergent calli of the lip base and the leaves, and leaf sheaths.

Synonyms Epidendrum claesianum Cogn. 1901;

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; First Supplement to the Orchids of Peru Schweinfurth 1970; Icones Orchidacearum 2 Plate 149 Hagsater & Sanchez 1993 see Recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 7 Plate 729 Hagsater & Sanchez 2004 see Recognition section as E zipaquirianum;

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