Epidendrum coronatum is a reed-stemmed epiehytic Epidendrum

Epidendrum

Epidendrum , abbreviated Epi in horticultural trade, is a large neotropical genus of the orchid family. With more than 1,100 species, some authors describe it as a mega-genus. The genus name refers to its epiphytic growth habit...

orchid

Orchidaceae

The Orchidaceae, commonly referred to as the orchid family, is a morphologically diverse and widespread family of monocots in the order Asparagales. Along with the Asteraceae, it is one of the two largest families of flowering plants, with between 21,950 and 26,049 currently accepted species,...

 that grows wild in the Neotropics at medium to low altitudes.

Description

E. coronatum is a sympodial epiphyte

Epiphyte

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...

 that produces slitghtly thickened stems up to 70 cm long, covered by the basal sheaths of the fleshy, alternate, ovate-lanceolate leaves, which grow up to 10 cm long and 2.5 cm wide. The arching apical racemose

Raceme

A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...

 inflorescence

Inflorescence

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...

 has small sheaths at its base, and carries many waxy-textured, green to cream colored flowers. The dorsal sepal, at 20 mm long, is slightly longer than the lateral sepals and the petals, which measure 18 mm. The lip

Labellum

Labellum is the Latin diminutive of labium, meaning lip. These are anatomical terms used descriptively in biology, for example in Entomology and botany.-Botany:...

is adnate to the column to its apex, and convex beyond the column. Ruiz and Pavon describe the lip as trilobate, with the medial lobe carrying two smaller divisions; Dodson and Vásquez use the term "4-lobed" to include the divergent processes of the medial lobe.

External links

• A picture may be found at http://www.orchidspecies.com/epicoronatum.htm
• A picture of the type specimen may be found at http://www.epidendra.org/taxones/Epidendrum/Epidendrum%20coronatum/Epidendrum%20coronatum%20Photo%20of%20type%20%28AMES%29.jpeg