30 ORCHIDACE^ 



and about 5 mm. broad near the base, oblong to lanceolate, 

 obtuse, rounded; the middle lobe variable, rounded, retuse or 

 obscurely apiculate, 8-10 mm. broad ; the disc bicostate from the 

 base with a third short costa between the others near the apex. 

 Column about 1 cm. long, with two incurved wings near the apex. 

 Pollinia 4, in pairs. Fruit an ellipsoidal capsule. — Flowers varia- 

 ble in coloration ; sepals yellowish-green, more or less faintly 

 veined and suffused with madder-purple; lip white, variously 

 marked or stained with crimson-magenta, the apical lobe some- 

 times entirely crimson-magenta, sometimes white ; lateral lobes 

 with several crimson-magenta basal nerves or entirely suffused 

 with the same color ; column most often white, sometimes marked 

 or dotted with dull crimson-magenta. 



Epidendrum tamioense, Lindl., is one of the few endemic epi- 

 phytic orchids of the southern United States. It is confined as 

 far as I know to peninsular Florida. It seems to have been discov- 

 ered first by Dr. John Torrey, who sent plants collected near Port 

 Tampa to Dr. Lindley as early as 1846-47. Subsequently plants 

 were obtained by many collectors, so that the species is well repre- 

 sented in herbaria. According to the characterization in the 

 Botanical Register, the original specimens were monophyllous and 

 undersized, but there is no doubt as to the species described by 

 Lindley. It is common on various kinds of trees both in shaded 

 hammocks and in open sunny forests, and in all parts of southern 

 Florida is abundant. Before the disastrous frosts of 1895, accord- 

 ing to Mr. T. L. Mead, it was to be found farther north than 

 0\aedo. Throughout its range it varies greatly, and while extreme 

 forms might readily pass as distinct species, there are no constant 

 characters by which they can be critically separated. As in the 

 Cuban Epidendrum fucatum, the vegetative parts are very variable, 

 and plants both with large and with small pseudobulbs grow 

 intermingled so that it seems impossible to account for differences 

 in size on purely ecological conditions. Monophyllous and diphyl- 

 lous forms also occur intermingled, and are frequently misleading 



