Epidendrum blepharistes

Epidendrum blepharistes grows both terrestrially and epiiphytically at altitudes ranging from 1.0 km to 3.0 km in the Neotropics.[2] Like other members of the subgenus E. subg. Amphiglottium, E. blepharistes exhibits a sympodial growth habit, with individual stems covered from the base with close, tubular sheaths; on the upper part of the stem, these sheaths are the bases of the distichous leaves. E. blepharistes differs from most members of E. subg. Amphiglottium by frequently having a fusiform swelling, up to 1.5 dm long, at the base of each stem. The elongate, ovate, obtuse leaves[3] can grow more than 22 cm long by 3 cm wide. The terminal peduncle is covered from its base in close tubular sheaths, and carries either a loose panicle (typical of the section E. sect. Polycladia) consisting of rather few distant racemes, or a single raceme. The small flowers are a rich rose color with oval sepals up to 10 mm long by 4 mm wide, acuminate petals nearly the same length as the sepals but with a denticulate margin, and a quadrilobate lip which is adnate to the column to its apex. (Schweinfurth 1959 describes the lip as "deeply 3-lobed" and then describes the mid-lobe as "deeply bilobed at the apex".) The lateral lobes of the lip are more or less fringed. There are two calli where the lip diverges from the column, and a keel between them, running part way down the medial lobe of the lip.

The diploid chromosome number of E. blepharistes has been determined as 2n = 40.[4]

• The Internet Orchid Species Photo Encyclopedia
• http://maqui.ucdavis.edu/Images/Orchids/epidendrum_blepharistes.html
• http://fm2.fieldmuseum.org/plantguides/guide_pdfs/166%20Maquipucuna%20orchids.pdf
• picture of herbarium sheet: http://orchid.unibas.ch/phpMyHerbarium/3130/1////specimen.php
• holotype of E. dolabrilobum herbarium sheet pictures: http://asaweb.huh.harvard.edu:8080/databases/specimens?id=110482