Epidendrum medusae (Rchb. f.) Pfitzer 1889 GROUP Nanodes Photo by © Eric Hunt and His Orchid Website

Another Color Form Photo courtesy of Patricia Harding

Another Color Form Photo courtesy of Don Dennis

Another Color Form Photo courtesy of Allen Black

MOSTLY

Common Name The Medusa Epidendrum [refers to the hairy lips seeming likeness to snakes and the greek mythology character with snakes for hair]

Flower Size to more than 3" [to more than 7.5 cm]

Found as a medium sized, epiphytic, cool growing orchid in Ecuador in wet montane cloud forests with a short rhizome giving rise to clustered, cane-like, laterally compressed, pendant stems that are basally branching, and completely enveloped by compressed, conduplicate, fleshy, gray-green, foliaceous sheaths carrying coriaceous, narrowly oblong-ovate, apically unequally bilobed, basally clasping leaves that are somewhat twisted at the base and blooms most often in the summer on an axillary, short, single [sometimes up to 3] flowered inflorescence with fantastic, large, heavy-textured flowers at elevations of 1800 to 2700 meters. Best grown on a mount with cool temperatures and constant moisture and medium light.

Synonyms Epidendrum medusae (Rchb. f.) Seibert 1900; Epidendrum medusae (Rchb. f.) Schltr 1921; Nanodes medusae Rchb. f. 1867; Neolehmannia medusae (Rchb. f.) Garay 1877

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; AOS Bulletin Vol 35 No 10 1966 Icones Planetarum Tropicarum plate 465 Dodson 1982; Icones Orchidaceaerum 3 Plate 392 Hagsater & Sanchez 1999 see recognition section; Native Ecuadorian Orchids Vol 2 Dodson 2002

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