Catasetum saccatum Lindley 1840 MALE Photo courtesy of Jay Pfahl
Flower closeup - Male Photo courtesy of Weyman Bussey, Plant grown by Howard Gunn
Female Flower Side View Photos courtesy of Weyman Bussey, plant grown by Dr. Yin Tung Wang.
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EARLY
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Common Name The Sack-Shaped Catasetum
Flower Size 4" [9 to 10 cm]
Found as a large sized, variable caespitose epiphyte in Guyana, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil in tropical montane forests on many different types of trees at altitudes of 200 to 1700 meters, with fusiform, elongate pseudobulbs with 4 to 7 elliptic-lanceolate, petiolate, acute leaves that blooms from the early winter through spring on an erect or pendant, 8" to 16" [25 to 68 cm] long, loose to many [3 to 21] flowered, bracteate, racemose inflorescence with fragrant flowers arising on a nearly mature pseudobulb and like most Catasetum, needs a definite rest period after the blooming season when it will drop its leaves. The flowers are different in that they can eject their pollina up to 8 ft from the plant. This species enjoys nearly full sunlight, warmth, plenty of water and fertilizer and only needs a rest if it has become obviously dormant. See also Catasetum incurvum which is often cited as a synonym of C saccatum but has sufficient differences to be kept a species in it's own right.
Synonyms Catasetum baraquinianum Lemaire 1862; Catasetum christyanum Rchb.f 1882; Catasetum colossus Schltr. 1925; Catasetum cruciatum Schlechter 1915; Catasetum histrio Klotsch ex Rchb.f ?; Catasetum japurense Mansf. 1930; Catasetum saccatum var typum; Catasetum saccatum var chlorops Rchb.f 1882; Catasetum saccatum var. pliciferum Rchb.f 1869; Catasetum secundum Klotsch ex Rchb.f 1854; Catasetum stupendum Cogn. 1895
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Flora Brasilica Vol XII VI Hoehne 1942 as C japurense; Flora Brasilica Vol XII VI Hoehne 1942; AOS Bulletin Vol 30 No 3 1961 photo; Flora de Venezuela Foldats Volumen XV Part 4 1970; Encyclopedia of Cultivated Orchdis Hawkes 1987; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum Plate 514 Vasquez & Dodson 1982; AOS Bulletin Vol 56 No 5 1987 Photo; Icones Orchidacearum Peruviarum Plate 418 Bennet & Christenson 1998; Manual of Cultivated Orchids Bechtel, Cribb and Laurent 1982; Manual Of Orchids Stewart 1995; Australian Orchid Review Vol 68 No 1 2003 photo; Flora's Orchids Nash & La Croix 2005; An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Orchids Pridgeon 1982, The World Of Catasetum Holtz 1999; Native Colombian Orchids Vol 1 COS 1990; Native Ecuadorian Orchids Vol 1 Dodson 1993; Orchids of Brazil McQueen 1993; Botanica's Orchids Laurel Glen 2002; Orchids of Peru vol 3 Schweinfurth 1958; Orchid Species of Peru Zelenko Bermudez 2009 photo fide
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