ORCHIDACEAE 325 



33. EPIDENDRUM L. 



Epiphytic herbs with brauching stems or flat or terete pseudobulbs. Leaves with 

 narrow or dilated blades, erect or spreading. Flowers in a spike, raceme or panicle. 

 Perianth of various colors. Lateral sepals mostly somewhat smaller or shorter than 

 the median one. Petals as broad as the sepals or narrower. Lip with a dilated blade 

 and a claw wholly or partially adnate to the column. 



Plants without pseudobulbs. 



Stems and branches creeping. 



Lip-blade suborbicular or obicular-reniform, rounded at the apex: petals oblong: median 



sepal obtuse. \. E. rigidum. 



Lip-blade ovate-cordate, acute or acuminate: petals linear: median 



sepal acute. 2. E. strobiliferum. 



Stems simple, erect, not creeping. 



Lip with 2 spreading lateral lobes and a broad middle lobe. 



Blade of the lip about as broad as long, the middle lobe about as 

 large as the lateral ones. 

 Sepals not ribbed, the lateral ones spatulate: lip with 2 append-. 



ages at the base: column slender. 3. E. conopseum. 



Sepals ribbed, the lateral ones falcate-obovate: lip unappend- 



aged: column stout. 4. E. anceps. 



Blade of the lip much broader than long, the middle lobe much 



smaller than the lateral ones. 5. E. difforme. 



Lip with 2 lateral lobes directed forward and a slender elongated 



middle lobe. 6. E. nocturnum. 



Plants with pseudobulbs. 



Pseudobulbs terete: lip with 2 large lateral lobes and a dilated middle lobe. 7. E. Tampense. 

 Pseudobulbs flat; lip with a rhombic or orbicular-reniform blade. 



Lip with a rhombic blade: petals broadened upward. 8. E. Boothianum. 



Lip with an orbicular-reinform blade: petals attenuate* 9. E. cochleatum. 



1. Epidendrum rigidum Jacq. Plants with creeping stem and branches 1-5 

 dm. long: leaf -blades oblong, sometimes narrowly so, 4-& cm. long: perianth 

 greenish: lateral sepals ovate or oblong-ovate, 5-7 mm. long: petals broadly linear 

 or oblong-spatulate : lip green; blade 2-3 mm. long, orbicular-reniform to suborbicu- 

 lar, or rarely deltoid-reniform, bearing callosities near the base: capsules 15-18 mm. 

 long. 



In hammocks, southern peninsular Florida. Also in tropical America. 



2. Epidendrum strobiliferum Eeichenb. f. Plants with creeping stems and 

 branches 0.5-3 dm. long: leaf -blades oblong to broadly linear or oblong-lanceolate, 

 1-2.5 cm. long: perianth mainly or wholly white: lateral sepals obliquely ovate to 

 obliquely-lanceolate, 3-4.5 mm. long: petals linear or somewhat constricted near the 

 base: lip white or whitish: blade 2-3 mm. long, ovate-cordate, unappendaged : cap- 

 sules 7-9 mm. long. 



In hammocks, southern peninsular Florida. Also in the West Indies. 



3. Epidendrum condpseum Ait. Plants 0.5-2 dm. tall : leaf -blades oblong to 

 oblong-lanceolate, 3-8 cm. long: flower-stalk slender: perianth green and often 

 purple-tinged: lateral sepals spatulate, 8-10 mm. long: petals linear-spatulate 8-10 

 mm. long: lip green; blade 5-6 mm. long, with 2 broad lateral lobes and a slightly 

 narrower middle lobe: capsule-body 15-20 mm. long. 



In river swamps, South Carolina to Florida and Alabama. 



4. Epidendrum dnceps Jacq. Plants 1.5-7 dm. tall: leaf -blades mainly oblong 

 to oblong-lanceolate, 5-18 cm. long: flower-stalk stoutish: perianth greenish or 

 purple-green: lateral sepals slightly oblique and obliquely truncate at the apex, 6-7 

 mm. long: petals spatulate, often broadly so, 5.5-6.5 mm. long: lip mostly green; 

 blade 5-6 mm. long, with 2 broad rounded lateral lobes and a middle notched lobe: 

 capsule-body 13-15 mm. long. 



In hammocks, southern peninsular Florida. Also in the West Indies. 



5. Epidendrum difforme Jacq. Plants 1-3.5 dm. tall: leaf -blades oblong or 

 nearly so, 4-8 cm. long: flower-stalk very short or obsolete: perianth green: lateral 

 sepals more or less oblique, sometimes broadly simitar-shaped, 12-15 mm. long: lip 

 green; blade 7-8 mm. long, reniform to orbicular-reniform, with broad rounded 

 lateral lobes and a short notched middle lobe : capsule-body 13-16 mm. long. 



In hammocks, southern peninsular Florida. Also in the West Indies. 



