Cowhorn orchid, cigar orchid, bee-swarm orchid

Epidendrum punctatum Linnaeus, Syst. Nat. ed. 10, 2: 1246. 1759

Plants epiphytic, 50–150 cm. Pseudobulbs elongate, fusiform, to 50 cm. Inflorescences erect, paniculate, to 90 cm. Flowers bright yellow with maroon and green markings, 4–5 cm wide; lip with middle lobe margins conspicuously verruculose-tuberculate, lateral lobes spotted or solid dark orange or maroon, longer than middle lobe. Capsules to 10 cm. 2n = 46.

Flowering winter--early spring. Coastal mangrove swamps and cypress swamps; 0--50[--500] m; Fla.; West Indies; South America (Peru, Venezuela).

The pseudobulbs of Cyrtopodium punctatum were used in the past as a source of glue for book binding.

SELECTED REFERENCES

Ames, O. 1905–1922. Orchidaceae: Illustrations and Studies of the Family Orchidaceae Issuing from the Ames Botanical Laboratory…. 7 vols. Boston and New York, Vol., 1, pp. 55–58.. Hawkes, A. D. 1952. Habitat notes on Cyrtopodium punctatum. Orchid J. 1: 296–297.