''Epidendrum frigidum'' is 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 ...

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 ...

from the high-altitude tropics in

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, and

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

Description

''Epidendrum frigidum'' is notable for inhabiting the high altitude tropical cloud forest (3–4 km high) near the tree line, sometimes on trees and sometimes terrestrially "on damp rocks a short distance from eternal snow." The round stem grows from a half to a meter tall. Like other members of ''Epidendrum'' subgenus ''Euepidendrum''

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 ...

, the stem is covered by foliaceous sheathes of the distichous leaves. The leathery leaves are ovate-oblong, obtuse at the end, and curve backward at the edges. The erect

paniculate A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...

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. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

with drooping branches arises from the apex of the stem, without any spathe at the base. The flowers are pale rose or green.C. H. and P. M Dodson, "EPIDENDRUM FRIGIDUM Lindl.", Plate 0469 in ''Icones Plantarum Tropicarum, Series II Orchids of Ecuador'', Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis. 1989. The rigid sepals and petals do not open widely, but surround the cordate lip which is adnate to the column to its apex and has an entire margin.

References

frigidum frigidum {{Laeliinae-stub