Epidendrum crescentilobum Ames 1923 GROUP Oerstedella SUBGROUP Aberrans
Drawing by © Jimenez, Hágsater & E.Santiago and The AMO Herbario Website
TYPE Drawing TYPE Drawing of Oerstedella crescentilobum by © Ames and The Epidendra Website
EARLY
Common Name or Meaning The Crescent Lobed Epidendrum [refers to the crescent shaped midlobe of the lip]
Flower Size .8" [2 cm]
Found in Costa Rica at elevations around 1300 to 2900 meters as a small to giant sized, cool to cold growing epiphyte with a simple, cane-like, terete, thin, erect, straight stem that generally produces keikis on robust stems carrying 6 to 15, throughout the apical 2/3's, alternate, articulate, spreading, lower ones deciduous, oblong-lanceolate, acute, subcoriaceous leaves that blooms in the fall through early spring on a terminal, occuring only once, slightly arching to horizontal, terete, thin, straight, slightly muricate, 2.4 to 6" [6 to 15 cm] long including the .8 to 2.4" [2 to 6 cm] long peduncle, racemose to rarely paniculate, generally secund, densely 10 to 70 flowered inflorescence occasionally with 1 to 2, linear-lanceolate, acuminate bracts and shorter than the ovary, linear-triangular, acuminate, gradually shorter floral bracts and carrying resupinate flowers with the tepals being pink-purple while the lip is white with a deep yellow callus.
"Epidendrum crescentilobum belongs to the GROUP Oerstedella which is characterized by the sympodial habit, mostly verrucose stems, and the rostellum which is perpendicular to the axis of the column instead of parallel, forming a wide, open sinus and without a viscidium and the SUBGROUP Aberrans, which is characterized by the pink with white flowers, and the column with an elongate cylindrical clinandrium-hood, the pollinia bird-wing type and unequal. The species is recognized by the racemose to rarely pedunculate inflorescence, generally secund and in a horizontal position, with all the flowers on the upper side, the small flowers with sepals .24 to .36" [6 to 8.5 mm], the midlobe with divaricate lobes arching backwards. Epidendrum aberrans Schltr. is also similar, with a racemose, occasionally paniculate inflorescence carrrying slightly larger flowers with sepals .28 to .4" [7 to 10 mm], lip with acute, straight lateral lobes, and widely distributed from Mexico in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec to western Costa Rica. Epidendrum pachytepalum Hágsater & E.Santiago has a secund inflorescence with larger sepals .48 to .56" [12 to 14 mm] long, with successive flowers, apically very fleshy sepals and petals, and a triquetrous ovary." Hagsater etal 2006
Synonyms Oerstedella crescentiloba (Ames) Hágsater 1981
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; The Genus Epidendrum Ames 1936 as Epidendrum crescentilobum; Ceiba Vol 5 No 1 L O Williams 1956 as Epidendrum crescentilabium; Manual de Plantas de Costa Rica Vol 3 Hammel, Grayum, Herrera and Zamora 2003 as Oerstedella crescentiloba; Icones Orchidacearum 8 Plate 801 Hagsater and Sanchez 2006 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 8 plate 821 Hagsater & Sanchez 2006 drawing fide; Icones Orchidacearum Vol 8 Plate 865 Hagsater & Sanchez 2006 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum Vol 8 Plate 867 Hagsater & Sanchez 2006 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum Vol 8 Plate 893 Hagsater & Sanchez 2006 see recognition section; Icones Orchidacearum 9 Plate 993 Hagsater 2007 see recognition section;
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