Epidendrum conopseum R. Br. in W.T. Aiton 1813

Plant ensitu on Florida Heritage Trail Ocala Nat Forest 7/06 Photos courtesy of Jay Pfahl

Full Inflorescence Photos courtesy of Bill Garris

to MID to LATE

Common Name Greenfly Orchid [named so for the shape of the lip, see photo]

Flower Size to 3/4" [to 2.3 cm]

This is a Floridian as well as Mexican, miniature sized, cool to hot growing epiphytic or rarely lithophytic orchid commonly refered to as the green-Fly Orchid which is found on trees in low woods and cypress swamps where it flowers mainly from mid-fall through the end of spring on a terminal, basally sheathed, lax, erect, short to 6 1/2" [16.5 cm], raceme with long lived, fragrant flowers which have a lip shaped like a green fly {See photo}, hence the common name. This species has thick fleshy roots, a simple reed-like stem enveloped by tubular, scarious sheaths and carries 2 to 3, articulate, narrowly elliptic, acute, sub-coriaceous leaves.

Synonyms Amphiglottis conopsea [R.Br.] Small 1933; Epidendrum magnoliae Muhl. 1813; Larnandra conopsea (R. Br.) Raf. 1837

References W3 Tropicos [http://mobot.mobot.org/W3T/Search/vast.html] , Kew Monocot list [ http://www.kew.org/wcsp/home.do ], IPNI [ http://www.us.ipni.org/ipni/plantsearch?request_type=search&output_format=query&ret_defaults=on Icones Orchidacearum I Plate 28 Hagsater and Salazar 1990;

Epidendrum conopseum var. mexicanum L.O. Williams Photo courtesy of Noble Bashor

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San Luis Potosi Mx., 1100 to 2000 m elev., between Ciudad del Maiz & El Naranjo, Epiphytic in mixed pine and oak forests.

Synonyms Epidendrum magnoliae Muhl. 1813; Larnandra magnolia Raf. 1825