''Epidendrum catillus'' is an

epiphytic An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a 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 epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...

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. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

native to Colombia (where the type was collected),

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar language, Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechuan ...

and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

at altitudes ranging from 0.8 km to 1.6 km.

Description

''E. catillus'' has been placed in ''E.'' subg. ''Amphiglottium''

Lindl. John Lindley FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist. Early years Born in Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four children of George and Mary Lindley. George Lindley w ...

(1841) by

Reichenbach Reichenbach may refer to: Places Austria * Reichenbach (Litschau), a part of Litschau * Reichenbach (Rappottenstein), a part of Rappottenstein Germany * Reichenbach (Oberlausitz), in Niederschlesischer Oberlausitzkreis district, Saxony * Rei ...

. H. G. Reichenbach "ORCHIDES" Nr. 285 in C. Müller, Ed. ''Walpers Annales Botanices Systematicae'' 6(1861)393-394. Berlin. Like other members of this subgenus, ''E. catillus'' has thin stems which show no tendency to produce

pseudobulb The 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 heteroblastic a ...

s, covered with tight, tubular sheathes which bear distichous leaves on the upper part of the stem, a long apical

peduncle Peduncle may refer to: *Peduncle (botany), a stalk supporting an inflorescence, which is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed *Peduncle (anatomy), a stem, through which a mass of tissue is attached to a body **Peduncle (art ...

covered from its base with tight tubular sheathes, and a

lip The lips are the visible body part at the mouth of many animals, including humans. Lips are soft, movable, and serve as the opening for food intake and in the articulation of sound and speech. Human lips are a tactile sensory organ, and can be ...

which is

adnate Adnate may refer to: * Adnation, in botany, the fusion of two or more whorls of a flower * Adnate, in mycology, a classification of lamellae (gills) * Conjoined twins Conjoined twins – sometimes popularly referred to as Siamese twins – are ...

to the

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

to its apex. The plant height is variable, from 0.2 m to 1 m. The leathery leaves grow as long as 7.5 cm, and as wide as 3.5 cm. The inflorescence is usually a

raceme A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the sh ...

, although

paniculate A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle ar ...

inflorescences have been observed; the flowers are born close together near the end of the raceme. The flowers are red to violet and white, and open fully. The oblong sepals are grow to 1.5 cm long, the petals are somewhat smaller. As is typical of ''E.'' sect. ''Schistochila'', the lip has lateral lobes and a medial lobe, which divides in two in this species. As is typical of ''E.'' subsect. ''Tuberculata'', the lip margins are crenulate to lacerate, and the lip bears an irregularly-shaped tubercule; in this species, the large tubercule extends much of the way down the medial lobe and into the lateral lobes, is mostly white, and is accompanied by two small colored calli, one on either side of the column apex. Reichenbach 1861 compares this species to '' E. cochlidium''.

References

External links

*A photo of the flower can be found at
The Internet Orchid Species Encyclopedia
'. *Photos of the inflorescence of this and many other orchids can be found at https://web.archive.org/web/20081203192549/http://www.ecology.org/ecophoto/orchids/Epidendrum.html *Photos of flowers of several individuals can be found at https://www.flickr.com/search/?s=rec&w=all&q=Epidendrum+Catillus&m=text {{Taxonbar, from=Q5382746 catillus Orchids of Colombia Orchids of Ecuador Orchids of Peru