Cyrtopodium punctatum (L.) Lindl.

  • Authority

    Ackerman, James D. 1995. An orchid flora of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 73: 1-203.

  • Family

    Orchidaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Cyrtopodium punctatum (L.) Lindl.

  • Description

    Species Description - Plants robust, epiphytic or lithophytic, glabrous. Roots white, very numerous, slender, some apogeotropic. Pseudobulbs rigid, elongate-fusiform, to 50 cm long, 1.5-3.5 cm diam. Leaves numerous, linear-lanceolate, linear-elliptic or oblanceolate, 1-7 dm long, 1-5 cm wide. Inflorescences erect, paniculate, 6-12 dm long, many-flowered; floral bracts yellow, spotted brown, ovateoblong to oblong-lanceolate, acute to acuminate, margins undulate, 1.5-12 cm long, 7-35 mm wide. Flowers yellow or cream, spotted brown, large, showy, resupinate. Pedicellate ovary 2.5-4 cm long. Sepals free, margins strongly undulate; dorsal sepal oblong-lanceolate to elliptic-lanceolate, acute, to 30 mm long, 7.5-15 mm wide. Petals more or less elliptic, obtuse to rounded, 13-21 mm long, 7.5-13 mm wide. Lip trilobed, narrow claw attached to the column foot; disc callus nodular; lateral lobes suborbicular, curving upward around the column, 4-8 mm long, 4-15 mm wide; middle lobe rigid, much broader than long, 6-14 mm wide, apical margin verrucose; lip overall 1.1-1.6 cm long, 1.7-2.6 cm wide when spread. Column stout, 5-7 mm long; column foot short but prominent; pollinia yellow. Fruits ellipsoidal-obovoid, pendent, 7-9 cm long, 3-5 cm wide.

  • Discussion

    1. Cyrtopodium punctatum (Linnaeus) Lindley, Gen. Sp. Orchid. PL 188. 1833. Epidendrum punctatum Linnaeus, Syst. PL, ed. 10, 2: 1246. 1759. Type. Plumier s.n. (original illustration at P, not seen; reproduction: Plumier, PL Amer. t. 187. 1758). Phenology & Pollination. In the spring, plants produce a massive inflorescence from the base of the developing new growth. In Puerto Rico, the flowers are probably pollinated by Centris or Xylocopa bees. Very few fruits are produced, and these take about a year to mature, after which they release hundreds of thousands of seeds. Cyrtopodium are regarded as "trashbasket plants" (Dressier, 1981; Benzing, 1990) because the thin, stiff, erect (apogeotropic) roots serve as debris collectors. This material decays, and presumably the minerals released constitute a nutritional reservoir. Illustrations. Foldats, 1970; C. A. Luer, 1972; Ospina & Dressier, 1974; Sheehan & Sheehan, 1979; L. O. Williams & Allen, 1980; Ackerman & Del Castillo Mayda, 1992.

  • Distribution

    General Distribution. Cuba, Florida (U.S.A.), Hispaniola, Peru, Puerto Rico, and northern Venezuela.

    Cuba South America| United States of America North America| Haiti South America| Dominican Republic South America| Peru South America| Puerto Rico South America| Venezuela South America|