''Encyclia tampensis'' (Encyclia from Greek - enkykleoma "to encircle" and tampensis - "

Tampa Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

") or Tampa butterfly orchid is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Eart ...

family, subfamily Epidendroideae. It has been placed in ''Encyclia'' sect. ''Hymenochila''. This species was first described by

John Torrey John Torrey (August 15, 1796 – March 10, 1873) was an American botany, botanist, chemist, and physician. Throughout much of his career, he was a teacher of chemistry, often at multiple universities, while he also pursued botanical work, focus ...

in 1847.http://culturesheet.org/orchidaceae:encyclia:tampensis Culture Sheet Project

Range

Native to

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

and the

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

, and another variety in Cuba, ''E. tampensis'' is an

epiphyte An epiphyte is a plant or plant-like organism that grows on the surface of another plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphyt ...

most commonly found growing on southern live oaks but also on pond apples,

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...

s, Bald Cypress, pines and palms in tropical hardwood hammocks and along rivers. Vouchered specimens have been cataloged by USF as far north as Levy and Putnam Counties. They are also found in the salty Florida Keys.

Description

''Encyclia tampensis'' has dark green 7 cm

pseudobulb In botany, a pseudobulb is a storage organ found in many epiphytic and terrestrial sympodial orchids. It is derived from a thickening of the part of a stem between leaf nodes and may be composed of just one internode or several, termed ''heter ...

s with narrow foliage up to 16 cm in length and 2 cm in width. Mature plants produce a branched

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

in Summer containing several flowers with green to bronze

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s and

petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...

s surrounding a white lip with a purple dot. Flowers are alternate, 2.5 cm in diameter and fragrant. They are also called butterfly orchids because of how they sometimes appear in a breeze. There are some variations in color and markings that exist such as Cuba's ''Encyclia tampensis'' var. ''amesiana'' and the "alba" or white variety.http://www.orchidspecies.com/enctampense.htm Orchid Species site The

diploid Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Here ''sets of chromosomes'' refers to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, ...

chromosome A chromosome is a package of DNA containing part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes, the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with nucleosome-forming packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells, the most import ...

number of ''E. tampensis'' has been determined as 2''n'' = 40; the

haploid Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell (biology), cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for Autosome, autosomal and Pseudoautosomal region, pseudoautosomal genes. Here ''sets of chromosomes'' refers to the num ...

chromosome number as ''n'' = 20.

Collecting

Despite being one of Florida's most prolific native orchids, Florida considers ''E. tampensis'' a regulated plant needing protection from commercial exploitation. Which means people who want to harvest any for sale from the wild must get a permit. A permit is also required for collecting more than 2 for personal use from private lands, or any at all from public lands. Certified nurseries are specifically permitted to sell commercially grown protected plants.Florida Title XXXV Chapter 581.185 Sec 7

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q1945854 tampensis tampensis Orchids of North America Orchids of Florida Orchids of Cuba Flora of the Bahamas Epiphytic orchids Plants described in 1847 Flora without expected TNC conservation status