Click the number at the start of a key lead to highlight both that lead and its corresponding lead. Click again to show only the two highlighted leads. Click a third time to return to the full key with the selected leads still highlighted.

Key to Epidendrum

Orchidaceae

Epidendrum

Copy permalink to share

1 Plants with aerial roots throughout stem; labellum with fringed margins
1 Plants with roots basal or only extending to proximal branches; labellum margins not fringed.
  2 Stems creeping or hanging; inflorescences distichous.
    3 Stems unbranched; flowers green
    3 Stems branched; flowers yellow or greenish-brown.
      4 Plants hanging, leaves typically concentrated throughout stems; main stems > 40 cm long; capsule 18-24 mm long with beaks 5-6 mm long
      4 Plants creeping; leaves typically concentrated towards stem apex; main stems < 20 cm long; capsule 9-19 mm long with pedicel and beak absent
  2 Stems erect (larger stems will sometimes droop somewhat, but plants not consistently hanging); inflorescences racemose or corymbose.
        5 Plants larger, to 100 (-110) cm long; vegetative portions of stems 60-90 cm long.
          6 Inflorescence densely flowered; flowers not resupinate, spirally arranged; labellum not white (yellowish-orange to green); sepals and petals narrowly oblanceolate to obovate-elliptic; capsule beak obsolete
          6 Inflorescence not densely flowered; flowers resupinate, not spirally arranged; labellum white; sepals and petals narrowly linear-lanceolate; capsule beaks to 16 mm
        5 Plants smaller, to 26 (-38) cm long; vegetative portions of stems 2-23 cm long.
             7 Roots 3-5 mm in diameter; stems 2-5 cm in length; petiole not exceeding 1.5 cm in length; leaves distributed near apex of stem; inflorescence racemose, flowers pale green to bronze-colored; [collectively widespread in a variety of habitats, NC to FL, w. to LA]
             7 Roots 1-2 mm in diameter; stems 5-23 cm in length; petiole to 2.5 cm; leaves distributed throughout stem; inflorescence compact (nearly corymbose); flowers green to yellow; [sloughs, s. FL]