Catasetum cristatum Lindl. 1824 Photo by © Daniel Souza

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Common Name The Comb-Like Catasetum

Flower Size 2"

Found in Trinidad, Venezuela and Brazil as a small to medium sized, hot to warm growing epiphyte of forested areas. This orchid is interesting in the fact that it has perfect flowers borne on a basal, erect to suberect, several flowered, racemose inforescence arising on a newly matured pseudobulb, unlike the rest of the Catasetum and it's blooming occurs in the spring, summer and fall. Found with fusiform clustered pseudobulbs envelopd basally by several leaf sheaths and carrying linear lanceolate leaves. This species is related to and may in fact be synomonous with C. barbatum, if this is true then this name would take precedence.

Synonyms Catasetum cornutum Lindl. 1840; Catasetum cristatum var stenopetalum Rchb.f 1887; Monachanthus cristatus (Lindl.) Lindl. ?; Myanthus cristatus (Lindl.) Lindl.?

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Flora Brasilica Vol XII VI Hoehne 1942; AOS Bulletin Vol 33 No 2 1964 photo; Flora de Venezuela Foldats Volumen XV Part 4 1970; Die Orchideen #2 5-8 tafel 3 Rudolph Schlechter 1971 photo fide; Orchidaceae Brasilensis Pabst & Dungs 1976; Icones Orchidacearum Brasilensis Neto & Campacci 1993; The World Of Catasetum Holtz 1999 drawing/photo fide; Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana Vol 7 Steyermark, Berry, Yatskievych and Holst 2003 drawing ok; Orchids of The Brazilian Central Plateua Menezes 2004 photo fide

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