Epidendrum vexillium Hágsater 1999 GROUP Spathiger SUBGROUP Circinatum

TYPE Drawing by © Jimenez and The AMO Herbaria Website

Common Name The Insignia Epidendrum [refers to the way the lip is positioned to exhibit it]

Flower Size 1.6" [4 cm]

Found in Panama on the Pacific slope of the Serrania de San Blas and Choco and Risaralda departments of Colombia at elevations below 1000 meters as a small to medium sized, warm growing epiphyte with simple, laterally compressed, ancipitous stems carrying 2 to 4, distichous, coriaceous, all along the upper half of the stem, articulate, elliptic, bilobed, margin entire leaves that blooms in the fall and winter on a terminal, arising on a mature stem, without a spathe, occuring only once, distichous, erect, flexuous, peduncle laterally compressed, ancipitous, with 2 to 3, sub-imbricate, conduplicate, the apex incurved and touching the peduncle bracts, 6 to 7.2" [15 to 18 cm] long, overall, successively 2 to 3, 2 to 6 flowered inflorescence with the same or shorter than the ovary, conduplicate, acute, dorsal keel minutely dentate floral bracts and carrying non-resupinate, distichous, all opening to the same side of the rachis, concolor, apple green flowers with a seminal-spicy fragrance.

NOTE The syn E concavilabium [TYPE Costa Rica] which corresponds to E. circinatum has been used in Colombia with the photo and drawing in Orquideas de la Serrania del Baudo Misas and is actually this species [pers comm Eric Hagsater 5/20], not only in the non curled lateral sepals and petals but in the shape of the lip which has no central folding, no erose margins and is much more bowl-like. This species is found at low elevations in primary forest and has medium sized, flattened stems completely enveloped by clasping sheaths many carrying liner, coriaceous, bilobed apically, conduplicate and clasping basally leaves that blooms in the spring on a terminal, erect, flattened inflorescence enveloped completely by imbricate, acute floral bracts from which the rigid, coriaceous, waxy, 1" [2.5 cm], wide open, racemose flowers, arise showing only the flower, with the ovary hidden.

"Epidendrum vexillium is recognized by its broadly ancipitous stems, with 2 to 4 large, wide, elliptic leaves, the nearly flat, subrectangular to suborbicular lip, somewhat wider near the base than near the apex, upright, extending on the same axis as the column, and the well-spread sepals, which are neither revolute nor reflexed. It belongs to the GROUP Spathiger SUBGROUP Circinatum and is similar to E. circinatum which has an obcuneate lip broader towards the apex than at the base and is inflexed at a 90 degree angle with the axis of the column, so that in natural position the lip is horizontal but looking downwards, covering the entry of the nectary, the sepals and petals are strongly revolute." Hagsater etal 1999

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; * Icones Orchidacearum 3 Plate 395 Hagsater 1999 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum 7 Plate 738 Hagsater and Sanchez 2004 see recognition section; Orquideas de la Serrania del Baudo Misas Urreta 2006 as E concavilabium = E vexillium Drawing/Photo fide; Icones Orchidacearum Vol 11 Plate 1111 Hagsater & Sanchez 2008; Orquideas, Tesoro de Colombia Vol 2 Ortiz & Uribe 2017 drawing fide;

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