Epidendrum radicans Pavon ex Lindley 1831 Photo courtesy of Jay Pfahl

to MOSTLY and

Common Name The Ground Rooting Epidendrum

Flower Size 1" [2.5 cm]

Found from Mexico to Colombia as a large sized, hot to warm growing terrestrial or lithophyte growing most in open areas between grasses and rocks, especially on roadside banks in pine oak forest and mountain rain forest at elevations of 900 to 2500 meters as a hot to cool growing reedstem orchid with ovate to elliptic, an unequally bilobed apex, coriaceous leaves that are evenly distributed along the stem that blooms the most between fall and spring on a terminal, erect, 10 to 38" [25 to 50 cm] long, umbelliform inflorescence with successive opening, resupinate flowers all clustered in a ball at the apex. It differs from Epidendrum ibaguense H.B.K. in having roots all along the stem and a creeping habit, never caespitose.

Synonyms Epidendrum pratense Rchb.f. 1866; Epidendrum rhizophorum Batem. ex Lindley 1838

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Native Colombian Orchids Vol 2 COS 1991; The Orchids of Cuba Llamacho & Larramendi 2005; Orchidaceae Antillanae Nir 2000; Icones Orchidacearum I Plate 40 Hagsater and Salazar 1990; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum plate 731 Dodson 1982; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum plate 1433 Atwood 1993