Encyclia citrina
Encyclopedia
Encyclia citrina is a species of orchid with a strong lemony fragrance. Flowers are golden yellow with varying degrees of white crenulations in the lip. The plants themselves may be upright or pendant, but the flowers are always pendant. Also known as the tulip orchid due to its rounded cup like shape of its flowers. It has been referred to for generations as costicoatzontecoxòchitl meaning "flower in the form of yellow serpent head" by the Nahuas or native peoples indigenous of southwest United States
and Northwest Mexico
.
and has pendant plants and flowers. The plants are compact and have tightly clustered pseudobulbs
, 4-6 cm in length, 2-3 cm wide, commonly covered by a persistent papery sheath. The leaves are a silvery-greenish color, 2-4 per pseudobulb, elliptical, acute and closely obtuse, 18-25 cm in length, 2-4 cm wide. The foliage is very noticeably with a fine powdery "film" over the leaves. The plant has a unique feature of commonly growing hanging upside down off a larger trunk or branch of a larger tree often in rather cool and dry forest environments at 1300-2200 meters of elevation.
: 6-10 cm in length, 1-2 large (5-6.5 cm). Its blooms are pale yellow to canary yellow or almost orange with fleshy sepals and petals. Petals and sepals are elliptical, 5-6.5 cm in length, 1.5-2 cm wide; petals are similar but a little bit wider; lip more or less of the same length, with darker veins and ruffled texture, united with the column at the base. Lip is somewhat variable and may be lighter or darker than the petals and sepals. The ovaries
are free of any sharp angles or wings while its pods are rounded and ribbed.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Northwest Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
.
The plant
Encyclia citrina is epiphyticEpiphyte
An epiphyte is a plant that grows upon another plant non-parasitically or sometimes upon some other object , derives its moisture and nutrients from the air and rain and sometimes from debris accumulating around it, and is found in the temperate zone and in the...
and has pendant plants and flowers. The plants are compact and have tightly clustered pseudobulbs
Pseudobulb
The pseudobulb is a storage organ derived from the part of a stem between two leaf nodes.It applies to the orchid family , specifically certain groups of epiphytic orchids, and may be single or composed of several internodes with evergreen or deciduous leaves along its length.In some species, it is...
, 4-6 cm in length, 2-3 cm wide, commonly covered by a persistent papery sheath. The leaves are a silvery-greenish color, 2-4 per pseudobulb, elliptical, acute and closely obtuse, 18-25 cm in length, 2-4 cm wide. The foliage is very noticeably with a fine powdery "film" over the leaves. The plant has a unique feature of commonly growing hanging upside down off a larger trunk or branch of a larger tree often in rather cool and dry forest environments at 1300-2200 meters of elevation.
Flowers
InflorescenceInflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
: 6-10 cm in length, 1-2 large (5-6.5 cm). Its blooms are pale yellow to canary yellow or almost orange with fleshy sepals and petals. Petals and sepals are elliptical, 5-6.5 cm in length, 1.5-2 cm wide; petals are similar but a little bit wider; lip more or less of the same length, with darker veins and ruffled texture, united with the column at the base. Lip is somewhat variable and may be lighter or darker than the petals and sepals. The ovaries
Ovary (plants)
In the flowering plants, an ovary is a part of the female reproductive organ of the flower or gynoecium. Specifically, it is the part of the pistil which holds the ovule and is located above or below or at the point of connection with the base of the petals and sepals...
are free of any sharp angles or wings while its pods are rounded and ribbed.
Distribution
Encyclia citrina grows on trees in mixed oak-pine forests in central and southern Mexico.- GuerreroGuerreroGuerrero officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Guerrero is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo....
: Leonardo BravoLeonardo Bravo (municipality)Leonardo Bravo is one of the 81 municipalities of Guerrero, in south-western Mexico. The municipal seat lies at Chichihualco. The municipality covers an area of 852 km².As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 22,982....
. - JaliscoJaliscoJalisco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in Western Mexico and divided in 125 municipalities and its capital city is Guadalajara.It is one of the more important states...
: MascotaMascotaMascota is a town and municipality, in Jalisco in central-western Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 1,591.63 km².As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 14,045....
. - MichoacánMichoacánMichoacán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 113 municipalities and its capital city is Morelia...
: Madero. - OaxacaOaxacaOaxaca , , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 571 municipalities; of which 418 are governed by the system of customs and traditions...
: Mpio. San Pedro JuchatengoSan Pedro JuchatengoSan Pedro Juchatengo is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico.It is part of the Juquila District in the center of the Costa Region.The name comes from "Xochiatengo", which means "Flowers on the waters edge"....
, Santo Domingo AlbarradasSanto Domingo AlbarradasSanto Domingo Albarradas is a town and municipality in Oaxaca in south-western Mexico. The municipality covers an area of km².It is part of the Tlacolula District in the east of the Valles Centrales Region....
, Dto. Teposcolula.