Language: English
In this issue the authors present 48 species of Epidendrum, 29 are new to science; several of them with collections from more than one country. For Peru, the authors present 12 new species and 10 old ones; Colombia 10 new ones and 7 old; Ecuador 9 plus 7; Bolivia 1 plus 3; Brazil 2 plus 1, and Venezuela 1 plus 1. Guyana is mentioned in 1 old species, and from the Greater and Lesser Antilles one very old species, which has been confused, Epidendrum umbelliferum J.F.Gmel.
Three "old" species have been published this year in peer-reviewed papers: Epidendrum katarum-yariku, E. machinense and E. scrotiforme. New information is provided for the second two. What happens is that once a species is published and illustrated in colour, more information becomes immediately available through networks of amateurs and botanists.
The teamwork involved shows when we see that 23 authors have participated, and 12 illustrators have participated, some with traditional botanical line drawing, but increasingly with LCDP (Lancaster Composite Digital Plates) through macrophotography and editing technology which gives us a view of the plant in flower and floral details from live specimens. For this effort, the authors have had the collaboration of 38 photographers throughout the region.