''Epidendrum flexuosum'', a reed-stemmed ''

Epidendrum ''Epidendrum'' , abbreviated Epi in the horticultural trade, is a large neotropical genus of the orchid family. With more than 1,500 species, some authors describe it as a mega-genus. The genus name (from Greek ''επί, epi'' and ''δένδρο ...

'' common at mid-altitudes in Central America, is a species of

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

commonly called ''Epidendrum imatophyllum''. It grows exposed to intense sunlight in the forest canopy, particularly on ''

Guava Guava () is a common tropical fruit cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions. The common guava ''Psidium guajava'' (lemon guava, apple guava) is a small tree in the myrtle family ( Myrtaceae), native to Mexico, Central America, the ...

'' species. ''E. flexuosum'' bears non-resupinate lavender flowers on a congested raceme at the end of a long peduncle. In the wild, ''Epidendrum flexuosum'' grows naturally together with a nest of ants, and sometimes bees, wasps, or hornets, which protect it from predators. This species is very difficult to grow without the ants, a phenomenon found in other genera such as ''

Caularthron ''Caularthron'' Raf. (1837), abbreviated Cau. in the horticultural trade, is a genus of orchids with 4 species.Information retrieved from http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/qsearch.do on October 3, 2010, after entering "Caularthron". They are epiphytic or ...

'', ''

Coryanthes ''Coryanthes'', commonly known as bucket orchids, is a genus of neotropical epiphytic orchids (family Orchidaceae). This genus is abbreviated as Crths in horticultural trade. They are native to South America, Central America, Mexico and Trinidad ...

'', and '' Sievekingia''.

Description

''Epidendrum flexuosum'' has been placed in the subgenus ''E''. subg. Amphiglottium and shares the characteristics of that subgenus: it exhibits a

sympodial Sympodial growth is a bifurcating branching pattern where one branch develops more strongly than the other, resulting in the stronger branches forming the primary shoot and the weaker branches appearing laterally. A sympodium, also referred to a ...

growth habit with slender, unswollen stems covered by close distichous sheathes which are foliaceous on the upper sections of the stem; the inflorescence is terminal and covered from its base by distichous sheathes; and the

lip The lips are the visible body part at the mouth of many animals, including humans. Lips are soft, movable, and serve as the opening for food intake and in the articulation of sound and speech. Human lips are a tactile sensory organ, and can be ...

is adnate to the

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

to its apex. The ligulate leaves have a small notch in the obtuse end. The stem, including the peduncle, is flattened. As is typical of the section ''E''. sect. ''Schistochila'', the inflorescence is a raceme, and the lip is lacerate. The lilac flowers are non-resupinate. The dorsal sepal is lanceolate and recurved, the lateral sepals are falcate, and the petals are rhombic with lightly fringed to irregular margins. As is typical of the subsection ''E''. subsect. ''Carinata'', the lip is trilobate and has a keel, or carina, running down the center. In the case of ''E. flexuosum'' the lip is almost oval-shaped: Dodson & Bennett 1989 use the phrase "lip obscurely 3-lobed." The column is slightly s-shaped. The chromosome number of an individual collected in Mamirauá,

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

has been determined as 2n = 28

Synonymy

List of synonyms: *''E. buenavistae''

Kraenzl. Friedrich (Fritz) Wilhelm Ludwig Kränzlin (25 July 1847 – 9 March 1934) was a botanist associated with the Natural History Museum, London, Natural History Museum (BM). In the history of the European study of South African orchids, Fritz Krä ...

(1908) *''E. imantophyllum''

Lindl. John Lindley FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist. Early years Born in Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four children of George and Mary Lindley. George Lindley w ...

(1831) *''E. imatophyllum''

Hooker Hooker may refer to: People * Hooker (surname) Places Antarctica * Mount Hooker (Antarctica) * Cape Hooker (Antarctica) * Cape Hooker (South Shetland Islands) New Zealand * Hooker River * Mount Hooker (New Zealand) in the Southern Alps * Hoo ...

ex.

Lindl John Lindley FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist. Early years Born in Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four children of George and Mary Lindley. George Lindley w ...

(1831)J. Lindley, "Epidendrum imatophyllum", pp. 106–107, No. 52. ''The Genera and Species of Orchidaceous Plants.'' Ridgeway, London. (1830–1840) available online at http://www.botanicus.org/title/b12026323 *''E. imetrophyllum'' Paxton (1837) *''E. lorifolium''

Schltr. Friedrich Richard Rudolf Schlechter (16 October 1872 – 16 November 1925) was a German taxonomist, botanist, and author of several works on orchids. He went on botanical expeditions in Africa, Indonesia, New Guinea, South and Central America a ...

(1922) *''E. palpigerum''

Rchb.f. Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach (Dresden, 3 January 1823 – Hamburg, 6 May 1889) was a botanist and the foremost German orchidologist of the 19th century. His father Heinrich Gottlieb Ludwig Reichenbach (author of ''Icones Florae Germanicae et Helve ...

(1879)

References

External links

Images in the wild (as ''E. imatophyllum''): https://web.archive.org/web/20080308035848/http://www.abundaflora.com/epi_imat.htm {{Taxonbar, from=Q28816326, from2=Q5382765 flexuosum Plants described in 1818 Orchids of Central America Orchids of Belize