Plant in situ New Caledonia Photos by © Societe' Neo-Caledonienne D' Orchidophile

Common Name The Thread Stemmed Clematepistephium

Flower Size 1.6" [4 cm]

Found in New Caledonia in rainforests at elevations of 150 to 1200 meters as a giant sized, warm to cool growing epiphyte with a very long, slender, vine-like, twinning stem rooted into the ground but snakes through the tree to the top carrying broadly ovate, acute, abruptly narrowing below into the shortly petiolate base leaves that blooms in the late spring and earlier summer on a lateral, secundly paniculate, each branch to 4" [10 cm] long, 3 to 6 flowered, 6" [15 cm] long, to 17 flowered inflorescence

Even though the plant comes from low elevations it is best grown in cooler conditions. The flowers are stated to be spectacular.

Synonyms *Epistephium smilacifolium Rchb.f. 1876

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; *Flore de la Nouvelle-Caledonie et Dependences Vol 8 Orchidaceae Halle 1977 drawing fide; Native Orchids of New Caledonia - New Caledonian Orchid Society 1995 photo plant only; Rudolf Schlechter Die Orchideen Band 1C lieferung 41 pg 2565 - 2625 Brieger 2001 drawing fide

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