Epidendrum smaragdinum
Encyclopedia
Epidendrum smaragdinum is an epiphytic
sympodial
orchid native to the Neotropics. It has been found at 0.5 km above sea level in Napo
, Ecuador
It is also known from Brazil
, French Guiana
, Guyana
, Peru
, Suriname
, and Venezuela
.
which produces slender, cane-like stems which show no tendency to swell into pseudobulb
s, and which are covered by tubular imbricating sheathes which, on the upper part of the stem, bear alternate leaves. E. smaragdinum stems grow as tall as 0.4 m, and the linear-lanceolate, often red-spotted leaves grow as long as 8 cm.
As with other members of E. subg. Amphiglottium
, the peduncle
grows from the apex of the stem, and is covered with close, imbricating sheathes. The racemose
inflorescence bears only a few small bright green to white flowers at one time. The linear-oblong acute sepals are nearly 1 cm long; the lateral sepals are nearly half as wide as they are long. The petals are nearly liner, pointed at the end, and somewhat shorter than the sepals.
The lip
has a few red-brown spots and is adnate to the column
to its apex. Dodson & Dodson 1989 describes the lip as subreniform; Reichenbach 1861 as cordate. As with other members of E. sect. Schistochila
, the lip bears two lateral lobes and an apical lobe; in the case of E. smaragdinum, the apical lobe is divided in two, producing a roughly triangular lip with four points at its end. As with the other members of E. subsect. Integra
, the margin of the lip is neither lacerate nor fringed. The lip bears two tooth-like processes on either side of the column, and a central keel. The anther contains four pollinia
.
and E. alfredii Schltr. as separate species.
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...
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:...
orchid native to the Neotropics. It has been found at 0.5 km above sea level in Napo
Napo Province
Napo is a province in Ecuador. Its capital is Tena. The province contains the Napo River. The province is low developed without much industrial presence. The thick rainforest is home to many natives that remain isolated by preference, descendents of those who fled the Spanish invasion in the Andes,...
, 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...
It is also known from Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, French Guiana
French Guiana
French Guiana is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department located on the northern Atlantic coast of South America. It has borders with two nations, Brazil to the east and south, and Suriname to the west...
, Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
, 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....
, Suriname
Suriname
Suriname , officially the Republic of Suriname , is a country in northern South America. It borders French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, Brazil to the south, and on the north by the Atlantic Ocean. Suriname was a former colony of the British and of the Dutch, and was previously known as...
, and Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
.
Description
E. smaragdinum is a reed-stemmed EpidendrumEpidendrum
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...
which produces slender, cane-like stems which show no tendency to swell into 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, and which are covered by tubular imbricating sheathes which, on the upper part of the stem, bear alternate leaves. E. smaragdinum stems grow as tall as 0.4 m, and the linear-lanceolate, often red-spotted leaves grow as long as 8 cm.
As with other members of 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...
, the 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...
grows from the apex of the stem, and is covered with close, imbricating sheathes. The 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 bears only a few small bright green to white flowers at one time. The linear-oblong acute sepals are nearly 1 cm long; the lateral sepals are nearly half as wide as they are long. The petals are nearly liner, pointed at the end, and somewhat shorter than the sepals.
The 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:...
has a few red-brown spots and 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....
to its apex. Dodson & Dodson 1989 describes the lip as subreniform; Reichenbach 1861 as cordate. As with other members of E. sect. Schistochila
Epidendrum sect. Schistochila
Epidendrum sect. Schistochila Rchb.f. is a section of the subgenus E. subg. Amphiglottium Lindl. of the Genus Epidendrum of the Orchidaceae...
, the lip bears two lateral lobes and an apical lobe; in the case of E. smaragdinum, the apical lobe is divided in two, producing a roughly triangular lip with four points at its end. As with the other members of 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...
, the margin of the lip is neither lacerate nor fringed. The lip bears two tooth-like processes on either side of the column, and a central keel. The anther contains four pollinia
Pollinium
Pollinium, or plural pollinia, is a coherent mass of pollen grains in a plant.They are the product of only one anther, but are transferred, during pollination, as a single unit. This is regularly seen in plants such as orchids and many species of milkweeds .Most orchids have waxy pollinia...
.
Synonymy
Dodson & Dodson 1989 list three synonyms for E. smaragdinum. Kew, however, accepts E. pachyrachis AmesOakes Ames (botanist)
Oakes Ames was an American botanist specializing in orchids. His estate is now the Borderland State Park in Massachusetts....
and E. alfredii Schltr. as separate species.