Epidendrum calanthum is a terrestrial reed-stemmed Epidendrum orchid from the montane Tropical rainforest of Bolivia (including Cochabamba), Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, and the West Indies.

(1842) a sympodial habit, terete stems covered from the base with close, tubular, disthicous sheathes which are leaf-bearing on the upper part of the stem, and a terminal peduncle covered from its base with close, tubular sheathes.

The petals are 9 mm long and narrower than the sepals, with serulate to erose edges.

The broad, lacerate lip is adnate to the column to its apex, and is trilobate, as is typical for the section E. sect.

[4] Although E. calanthum bears a remarkable similarity to E. imatophyllum due to both species having nearly undivided lips, Dodson & Vásquez 1989 notes that they can be easily distinguished because E. calanthum has resupinate flowers, whereas the flowers of E. imatophyllum are non-resupinate.