WHITE EPIDENDRUM 
Epidendrum nocturnum Jaquin 
In the deep cypress swamps of southern Florida the white epiden- 
drum, known locally as bark orchid, is of frequent occurrence, al- 
though sometimes it is perched so high upon the tree that it is 
difficult to discover. The vety minute seeds, carried by the breeze to 
some branch, germinate and develop slowly, if the conditions are ex- 
actly right, into tiny plants which require several years to reach ma- 
turity. The plants cling tightly by their thick, fleshy roots to the 
branches. The white flowers of this epidendrum, although not so 
showy as those of some of its tropical relatives, ate very beautiful, and 
like the blossoms of most orchids, they last for a long time after they 
have opened. Their fragrance, which 1s especially noticeable at night, 
is attractive to moths, which feed on the nectar and unwittingly ac- 
complish cross-pollination in carrying the pollen from flower to 
flower. 
The dense hammocks of the lower Florida wilds bordering Coot 
Bay and the ramifying channels leading to and from it in Monroe 
County contain probably the finest development of epiphytic plants 
in the United States. Here many species of orchids, bromeliads, and 
ferns, in endless number, drape and festoon the branches to form a 
veritable hanging garden. 
This specimen came from Coot Bay, Florida. The plant is rather 
generally distributed in the West Indies and elsewhere in ttopical 
America. 
PLATE 337 
