Epidendrum cristatum

Epidendrum cristatumRuiz & Pav. (1789) (the "comb Epidendrum") is a species of orchid in the genus Epidendrum which is known to grow both terrestrially and epiphytically at altitudes near 1 km in the Neotropics from Mexico through Brazil, as well as Trinidad.

Epidendrum cristatum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Epidendroideae
Genus: Epidendrum
Subgenus: Epidendrum subg. Spathium
Species:
E. cristatum
Binomial name
Epidendrum cristatum
Ruiz & Pav. (1798)
Synonyms
  • Epidendrum raniferum Lindl. (1831)
  • Epidendrum calliferum Lem. (1845)
  • Epidendrum raniferum var. luteum Lindl. (1853)
  • Epidendrum hexadactylum Barb.Rodr. (1877)
  • Epidendrum longovarium Barb.Rodr. (1877)
  • Epidendrum tigrinum Sessé & Moç. (1894) nom. illeg.
  • Epidendrum raniferum var. hexadactylum (Barb.Rodr.) Cogn. (1898)
  • Epidendrum raniferum var. lofgrenii Cogn. (1898)
  • Epidendrum raniferum var. obtusilobum Cogn. (1898)
  • Epidendrum bathyschistum Schltr. (1919)
  • Epidendrum validum Schltr. (1921)
  • Epidendrum alexandri Schltr. (1922)

Description

Epidendrum cristaum is an unusually large reed-stemmed Epidendrum, growing up to 8 m tall.[1] As with other members of the subgenus E. subg. Spathium, the stems of E. cristatum are un-swollen and covered by close, tubular sheathes which bear distichous, somewhat leathery, lanceolate leaves (up to 3 cm long by 4 cm wide) on the upper part of the stem. The terminal paniculate inflorescence grows through several enlarged spathes, arranged in a fan, which cover the peduncle.[2] The yellow-green flowers often have purple-brown markings. The oblong convex obtuse sepals can grow up to 2.8 cm long, slightly longer than the linear petals. The lip is adnate to the column to its apex with a shape that resembles a comb.

The diploid chromosome number of E. cristatum has been determined as 2n = 40, the haploid chromosome number as n = 20.[3]

Synonymy and homonymy

The synonym Epidendrum tigrinum Sessé & Moç. (1894) is a homonym of Epidendrum tigrinum Linden ex Lindl. (1846), which has been renamed Prosthechea tigrina.

References
  1. Schweinfurth. "Orchids of Peru" Fieldiana: Botany 30(2) 1959. p. 429
  2. H. G. Reichenbach Nr. 214 of "Orchides" in C. Müller, Ed. Walpers. Annales Botanices Systematicae 6(1861)372. Berlin. as E. raniferum
  3. page 251 of Leonardo P. Felix and Marcelo Guerra: "Variation in chromosome number and the basic number of subfamily Epidendroideae (Orchidaceae)" Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 163(2010)234-278. The Linnean Society of London. downloaded October 2010 from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1095-8339.2010.01059.x/pdf
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