SPOTTED CYRTOPODIUM 
Cyrtopodium punctatum (Linnaeus) Lindley 
Few of the truly tropical orchids afford so brilliant a display of 
large and brightly colored flowers as does this plant, which is one of 
the showiest of all the orchids native in the United States. It grows 
abundantly in the cypress swamps of southern Florida, the huge 
plants with their large club-shaped pseudobulbs, often a foot long, 
forming dense clumps on the larger tree trunks. It is associated with 
smaller orchids, coarse ferns, bromeliads, and epiphytes of other 
groups. The graceful flower panicles, spreading or drooping from 
the tree trunks, are usually three feet long and sometimes much 
longer. The flowers, which recall those of the genus Oncidium, sug- 
gest a cloud of butterflies hovering over the foliage. 
The spotted cyrtopodium has been in cultivation in England for 
a hundred years. Besides its occurrence in Florida, it has a wide range 
in the American tropics, extending through the West Indies and 
from Mexico to Brazil. 
The specimen sketched was collected at Coot’s Bay, Cape Florida, 
~ Florida. 
PLATE 212 
