Epidendrum mancum
Encyclopedia
Epidendrum mancum Lindl. (1844) is an epiphytic
Epiphyte
An epiphyte is a plant that grows upon another plant non-parasitically or sometimes upon some other object , derives its moisture and nutrients from the air and rain and sometimes from debris accumulating around it, and is found in the temperate zone and in the...

 orchid
Orchidaceae
The Orchidaceae, commonly referred to as the orchid family, is a morphologically diverse and widespread family of monocots in the order Asparagales. Along with the Asteraceae, it is one of the two largest families of flowering plants, with between 21,950 and 26,049 currently accepted species,...

 that grows in the tropical low elfin
Elfin forests
Elfin forest is a nickname given to several similar dwarfed plants ecosystems, mainly in coastal Temperate Californian and montane Tropical regions, that are host to communities of dwarfed and tiny plants, insects, and rodents, such as the California Kangaroo Rat.-California:In Northern California,...

 cloud forests of Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...

 and Amazonas
Amazonas Region
Amazonas is a department of northern Peru bordered by Ecuador on the north and west, Cajamarca Department on the west, La Libertad Department on the south, and Loreto Department and San Martín Department on the east. Its capital is the city of Chachapoyas....

, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

, at altitudes of 2—3 km .

Description

E. mancum exhibits a sympodial growth habit, with flattened stems nearly covered by the basal sheaths of the three to four oblong retuse leaves, and a terminal racemose
Raceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...

 inflorescence which erupts from a large spathe, as is typical of the subgenus E. subg.Spathium
Epidendrum subg. Spathium
John Lindley published Epidendrum subg. Spathium of the Orchidaceae. According to Lindley's diagnosis,, the E. subg. Spathium is recognizable by is sympodial habit with individual stems being slender and covered by the bases of the distichous leaves, by the lip of the flower being...

. The small, fleshy, non-resupinate flowers range in color from green to yellowish-green or orange, frequently with red-brown markings which may nearly cover the perianth segments. The sepals are subrotund-oblong, and apically very obtuse. The petals are spatulate with very obtuse and concave apices. The small lip
Labellum
Labellum is the Latin diminutive of labium, meaning lip. These are anatomical terms used descriptively in biology, for example in Entomology and botany.-Botany:...

 is adnate to the column
Column (botany)
The column, or technically the gynostemium, is a reproductive structure that can be found in several plant families: Aristolochiaceae, Orchidaceae, and Stylidiaceae....

 nearly to its apex, is concave at its apex, and has a callus of three low ridges. From peduncle
Peduncle (botany)
In botany, a peduncle is a stem supporting an inflorescence, or after fecundation, an infructescence.The peduncle is a stem, usually green and without leaves, though sometimes colored or supporting small leaves...

to column apex is approximately 1 cm; the lip protrudes an additional 2 mm.

External links

  • http://www.orchidspecies.com/epimancum.htm
  • http://maqui.ucdavis.edu/Images/Orchids/epidendrum_mancum.html
  • http://waywardhawaiian.blogspot.com/2009/07/epidendrum-mancum.html
  • http://www.peruorchids.com/galeria/e/epidendrum/epidendrum-mancum.htm
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK