Epidendrum sect. Schistochila Rchb.f. (1861) is a section of the subgenus E. subg. Amphiglottium

Epidendrum subg. Amphiglottium

Epidendrum subg. Amphiglottium Lindl. 1841 is a subgenus of reed-stemmed Epidendrums, distinguished by an apical inflorescence with the peduncle covered from its base with close imbricating sheaths and by a lip that is adnate to the column to its apex.Reichenbach published three sections in this...

 Lindl. (1841) of the Genus Epidendrum

Epidendrum

Epidendrum , abbreviated Epi in horticultural trade, is a large neotropical genus of the orchid family. With more than 1,100 species, some authors describe it as a mega-genus. The genus name refers to its epiphytic growth habit...

of the Orchidaceae

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,...

. E. sect. Schistochila differs from the section E. sect. Holochila

Epidendrum sect. Holochila

Epidendrum sect.Holochila Rchb.f. 1861 is a section of subgenus Epidendrum subg.Amphiglottium of the Orchidaceae. It differs from section E. sect. Polycladia by bearing inflorescences that are racemes, not panicles. It differs from section...

 in that the species in E. sect. Holochila have undivided lips

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:...

; the species in E. sect. Schistochila have lobate lips. The species in both E. sect. Schistochila and E. sect. Holochila have 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

Inflorescence

An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...

s, unlike those in E. sect. Polycladia

Epidendrum sect. Polycladia

Epidendrum sect. Polycladia Rchb.f. 1861 is a section of the Subgenus E. subg. Amphiglottium Lindl. of the Genus Epidendrum of the Orchidaceae...

 (the other section of E. subg. Amphiglottium), which have truly paniculate

Panicle

A panicle is a compound raceme, a loose, much-branched indeterminate inflorescence with pedicellate flowers attached along the secondary branches; in other words, a branched cluster of flowers in which the branches are racemes....

 inflorescences. Like the other sections of E. subg. Amphiglottium, the members of E. sect. Schistochila are sympodial

Sympodial

Sympodial means "with conjoined feet", and in biology is often used to refer to the outward morphology or mode of growth of organisms.-In botany:...

 orchids bearing thin stems with alternate leaves (not pseudobulb

Pseudobulb

The pseudobulb is a storage organ derived from the part of a stem between two leaf nodes.It applies to the orchid family , specifically certain groups of epiphytic orchids, and may be single or composed of several internodes with evergreen or deciduous leaves along its length.In some species, it is...

s), a long 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...

 covered with thin, imbricating sheathes, and a lip adnate to the very end of 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....

.

Subsections

Reichenbach, 1861, described three subsections of Epidendrum sect. Schistochila:

• E. subsect. Integra
  Epidendrum subsect. Integra
  Integra is a subsection of the section Schistochila of the subgenus Amphiglotium of the genus Epidendrum of the Orchidaceae . Like the other subsections of Schistochila, Integra plants are sympodial orchids with no tendency to produce pseudobulbs...
  
   ("laciniis omnibus integris . . . . . . . C. Schistochila integra.") lip margins without any crenulation, fimbriation, denticulation, or laceration.
• E. subsect. Carinata
  Epidendrum subsect. Carinata
  Epidendrum subsect. Carinata Rchb.f. is a subsection of the section E. sect. Schistochila Rchb.f. of the subgenus E. subg. Amphiglottium Lindl. of the genus Epidendrum of the Orchidaceae...
  
   ("laciniis laceria, lobo medio lamellato . . . . . . D. Schistochila carinata.") lacerate lip margins, medial lobe of lip with a keel (carina).
• E. subsect. Tuberculata
  Epidendrum subsect. Tuberculata
  Epidendrum subsect. Tuberculata is a subsection of the section Schistochila of the subgenus Amphiglottium Lindl. of the genus Epidendrum of the Orchidaceae. This subsection differs from the subsection Integra in that the margins of the trilobate lip are dentate or lacerate...
  
   ("laciniis laceria lobo medio nuso basi bicalloso . . E. Schistochila tuberculata") lacerate lip margins, medial lobe of the lip with a large tubercule at the base.

A biochemical examination of the lacerate subsections encompassing plastid nucleotide sequence data from the trnL—trnF regions, Amplified Fragment Length Polyorphism (AFLP

Amplified fragment length polymorphism

Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism PCR is a PCR-based tool used in genetics research, DNA fingerprinting, and in the practice of genetic engineering. Developed in the early 1990s by Keygene, AFLP uses restriction enzymes to digest genomic DNA, followed by ligation of adaptors to the sticky...

) data, and somatic chromosome number for 30 individuals in three of the thirteen recognized species of E. subsect. Tuberculata and twenty individuals in eleven of the twelve recognized species of E. subsect. Carinata suggested the following conclusions:

• The section E. sect. Schistochila is monophyletic
  Monophyly
  In common cladistic usage, a monophyletic group is a taxon which forms a clade, meaning that it contains all the descendants of the possibly hypothetical closest common ancestor of the members of the group. The term is synonymous with the uncommon term holophyly...
  
  ;
• The subsection E. subsect. Tuberculata is monophyletic
  Monophyly
  In common cladistic usage, a monophyletic group is a taxon which forms a clade, meaning that it contains all the descendants of the possibly hypothetical closest common ancestor of the members of the group. The term is synonymous with the uncommon term holophyly...
  
  ;
• The subsection E. subsect. Carinata is polyphyletic
  Polyphyly
  A polyphyletic group is one whose members' last common ancestor is not a member of the group.For example, the group consisting of warm-blooded animals is polyphyletic, because it contains both mammals and birds, but the most recent common ancestor of mammals and birds was cold-blooded...
  
   and resolvable into an "Atlantic" and an "Andean" clade;
• The species E. radicans
  Epidendrum radicans
  This ground-rooting orchid is a common roadside weed at middle elevations in Central America. A crucifix orchid, it is often confused with many other members of the section Schistochila, including E. calanthe, E. cinnabarinum, E. denticulatum, E. erectum, E. fulgens,...
  
  is a sister to the remaining subsections of E. sect. Schistochila.
• The three species of E. subsect. Tuberculata (E. cochlidium
  Epidendrum cochlidium
  Epidendrum cochlidium is a neotropical orchid which can grow both terrestrially and epiphytically in Peru and Venezuela at altitudes ranging from 1.2 km to 2.9 km.-Description:...
  
  , E. secundum
  Epidendrum secundum
  Epidendrum secundum, one of the crucifix orchids, is a poorly understood reed stemmed species, which Dressler describes as "the Epidendrum secundum complex." According to Dressler, there are dozens of varieties, some of which appear to deserve species rank...
  
  , and E. xanthinum) might not be monophyletic
  Monophyly
  In common cladistic usage, a monophyletic group is a taxon which forms a clade, meaning that it contains all the descendants of the possibly hypothetical closest common ancestor of the members of the group. The term is synonymous with the uncommon term holophyly...
  
  .