Epidendrum tuxtlense Hágsater, García-Cruz & L.Sánchez 1999 GROUP Anceps SUBGROUP Polynathum

Plant Photos courtesy of Weyman Bussey

LATE through EARLY

Common Name The Tuxtla Epidendrum [San Andres de Tuxtla A region of Vera Cruz, a state in southern Mexico]

Flower Size .4" [1 cm]

Found in Vera Cruz and Oaxaca state of Mexico on the gulf slope in tropical montane, deciduous and rain forests at elevations of 1300 to 1700 as a medium to giant sized, warm to cool growing epiphyte with simple, basally terete, mid way laterally compressed, cane-like stems enveloped completely by old leafless sheaths and carrying in the upper half, 5 to 18, subcoriaceous, narrowly elliptic to lanceolate, shortly acuminate, basally clasping leaves that are articulate to the sheaths that blooms in the late spring through early fall on a terminal, pluriracemose, compact and dense, many flowered inflorescence that can rebloom over the years and carrying 20 to 32, simultaneously opening seminally fragrant flowers. Differs from E polyanthum by having a more compact and dense racemes with smaller, seminal fragrant flowers and has the ancipitous stem toward the apical half.

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list IPNI ; *Icones Orchidacearum 3 Plate 390 Hagsater & Soto 1999; Icones Orchidacearum Vol 11 Plate 1160 Hagsater & Sanchez 2008 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum Vol 11 Plate 1181 Hagsater & Sanchez 2008; Icones Orchidacearum Vol 11 Plate 1196 Hagsater & Sanchez 2008 see recognition section

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