Epidendrum megalospathum Rchb.f. 1877 GROUP Geminiflorum SUBGROUP Megalospathum type

Flowers insitu Cundinamarca Colombia elevation 2800 meters 5/07

Plant showing the large apical spathe from which the inflorescence arises Photos by © Jay Pfahl

Another Plant ex situ Photo courtesy of Danny Lentz Copyright ©

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Common Name or Meaning The Large Sheath Epidendrum [refers to the terminal, large spathe that the inflorescence arises through]

Flower Size 1.25" [3 cm]

Found in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela at elevations of 1400 to 3600 meters as a small sized,pendant growing, cool to cold growing epiphyte with a short pendant stem completely enveloped by leaf-bearing leaf sheaths and carrying several, distichous, fleshy, basally clasping, narrowly ellipic, acute leaves that blooms in the fall and winter on a terminal, apical, short to 2" [to 5 cm], few flowered, racemose inflorescence arising through a large apical, inflated, conduplicate, ovate spathe and carrying the few flowers close to the apice of the stem. The first photo is of a plant in a dwarf cloud forest at an elevation of 2800 meters in Cundinamarca Colombia in mid December.

Part of the Megalospathum subgroup which also includes E megalospathum, E molleturense and E tigriphyllum

Synonyms Diothonea megalospatha (Rchb. f.) Garay & Dunst. 1965; Diothonea rhodochila Schltr. 1924; Diothonea sodiroi Schltr. 1916; Epidendrum falsum Rchb. f. 1886; Epidendrum puberulosum Hágsater 1992; Epidendrum rhodochilum (Schltr.) Hágsater & Dodson 1992; Epidendrum sodiroi Schltr. 1916;

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Beitrage Zur Orchideenkunde Von Colombia 27:61 Schlechter 1924 as Diothonea rhodochila; Venezuelan Orchids Vol 3 Dunsterville & Garay 1965 as Diothonea megalospatha; Flora de Venezuela Foldats Volumen XV Part 3 1970; Native Colombian Orchids Vol 5 COS 1994; Icones Orchidacearum 3 Plate 370 Hagsater 1999 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 3 Plate 387 Hagsater 1999 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 4 Plate 472 Hagsater 1999 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 4 Plate 474 Hagsater 1999 see recognition section; Native Ecuadorian Orchids Vol 2 Dodson 2002; Icones Orchidacearum 7 Plate 762 Hagsater 2004 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 8 Plate 809 Hagsater 2006 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 8 Plate 854 Hagsater 2006 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 8 Plate 861 Hagsater 2006 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 8 Plate 884 Hagsater 2006 see recognition section;

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