TAMPA EPIDENDRUM 



Epidendrum tampense Lindley 



It is only in Florida and westward along the Gulf Coast in the 

 United States that we find the mild and moist climate suitable for the 

 growth of epiphytic orchids, a group characteristic of tropical forests. 

 In the dense cypress swamps of southern Florida, this Epidendrum 

 grows commonly, the slender plants forming masses of hard bulbs 

 and stiff fleshy leaves on the upper portions of the trunks and branches 

 of various trees. The trees in the Florida keys and the southern parts 

 of the mainland are often loaded with a dense growth of epiphytes, 

 chiefly bromeliads, orchids, ferns, and mosses. In spring, Tampa epi- 

 dendrum sends forth its graceful panicles of flowers, which are hand- 

 some, although inferior to some of the very numerous tropical species 

 of the genus. 



The Tampa epidendrum grows in southern Florida where the 

 specimen sketched was collected, and also in the Bahamas and Cuba. 



PLATE 152. 



