''Epidendrum secundum'', one of the crucifix orchids, is a poorly understood reed stemmed species, which Dressler (1989) describes as "the ''Epidendrum secundum'' complex." According to Dressler, there are dozens of varieties, some of which appear to deserve species rank. Arditti and Ghani note that ''E. secundum ''has the distinction of bearing the longest seeds known in the Orchidaceae, 6.0 mm long. By comparison, the seeds of ''E. ibaguense'' (another crucifix orchid) are only 2.9 mm long. Like the other members of ''E.'' subg. ''Amphiglottium'', ''E. secundum'' is a sympodial plant which has thin stems covered from the base with imbricating sheaths which are leaf bearing above, a terminal inflorescence covered at its base with thin imbricating sheaths, and flowers with the

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 ...

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 flowers are non-resupinate (unlike '' E. ibaguense'' and '' E. radicans''), can come in shades of lilac, red, orange, or yellow, and feature a notable callus on the fringed trilobate lip. The plant is rather cool-growing and can tolerate a light frost.

Diversity within the complex

In 1861, H. R. Reichenbach presented a treatment of the genus ''Epidendrum'', including his view of the sub-section ''Tuberculata''. Correlating his list of (in Reichenbach's view) separate species with the Kew Monocot Checklist (July 16, 2009) yielded the following list of taxa "which appear to deserve species rank" that Kew checklist reviewers consider to be synonyms for ''E. secundum'' (the page numbers refer to Reichenbach 1861): * ''E. ansiferum''

Rchb.f. Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach (Dresden, 3 January 1823 – Hamburg, 6 May 1889) was a botanist and the foremost German orchidologist of the 19th century. His father Heinrich Gottlieb Ludwig Reichenbach (author of ''Icones Florae Germanicae et Helv ...

& Warsz., Bonplandia (Hannover) 2: 111 (1854). (pp 394–395) * ''E. brachyphyllum''

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 ...

, Fol. Orchid. 3:72(1853) (p. 392) * ''E. fimbria''

, Bonplandia (Hannover) 2: 282 (1854). (p. 394) * ''E. gracilicaule''

& Warsz., Bonplandia (Hannover) 2: 111 (1854) (p. 392) * ''E. incisum''

& Warsz., Bonplandia (Hannover) 2: 112 (1854), nom. illeg. (p. 394) * ''E. lacerum''

, Edwards's Bot. Reg. 24(Misc.): 17 (1838). (pp. 395–396) * ''E. lindenii''

, Edwards's Bot. Reg. 31(Misc.): 48 (1845), nom. illeg (p. 393) * ''E. novogranatense''

& Warsz., Bonplandia (Hannover) 2: 111 (1854). (p. 396) The diversity of ''E. secundum'' is further demonstrated by counts of the chromosome number (in root tissues): a lilac-flowered individual from

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was found to have 2''n'' = 28; a lilac-flowered individual from

Santo Antônio do Itambé Santo Antônio do Itambé is a municipality in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The population is 3,799 (2020 est.) in an area of 305.74 km². The municipality contains part of the Pico do Itambé State Park The Pico do Itambé State Park ( pt ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, 2''n'' = 52; an orange-flowered individual from

, 2''n'' = 48; a lilac-flowered individual from

Serra do Rio do Rastro Serra do Rio do Rastro (, literally ''Mountain Range of the River of the Track'') is a mountain range located in the southeast of the state of Santa Catarina, Southern Brazil. It is crossed by the road SC-390, with remarkable landscapes and deep ...

, 2''n'' = 40; a lilac-flowered individual from

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in ...

, 2''n'' = 80; all in disagreement with a previously reported value of 2''n'' = 68. The Kew Monocot checklist lists many more binomials as synonyms of ''E. secundum'': * ''E. antioquiense'' Schltr., Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 7: 125 (1920) * ''E. bulkeleyi'' A.D.Hawkes, Orquídea (Rio de Janeiro) 18: 168 (1957) * ''E. coroicoense'' Schltr., Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 27: 60 (1929) * ''E. corymbosum'' Ruiz & Pav., Syst. Veg. Fl. Peruv. Chil.: 246 (1798) * ''E. corymbosum'' var. ''latifolium'' Cogn. in C.F.P.von Martius & auct. suc. (eds.), Fl. Bras. 3(5): 145 (1898) * ''E. crassifolium'' var. ''albescens'' Pabst, Bradea 2: 64 (1976) * ''E. cuzcoense'' Schltr., Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 9: 82 (1921) * ''E. dolichopus'' Schltr., Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 7: 131 (1920) * ''E. elongatum'' Jacq., Collectanea 3: 260 (1789) * ''E. fastigiatum'' Lindl., Fol. Orchid. 3: 71 (1853) * ''E. giroudianum'' Rchb.f., Bonplandia (Hannover) 4: 327 (1856) * ''E. herzogii'' Schltr., Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 12: 489 (1913) * ''E. inconstans'' Ames ex Gleason, Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 58: 350 (1931) * ''E. lacera'' (Lindl.) Britton, Sci. Surv. Porto Rico & Virgin Islands 5: 201 (1924) * ''E. longihastatum'' Barb.Rodr., Gen. Spec. Orchid. 1: 59 (1877) * ''E. pachyphyllum'' Schltr., Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 7: 140 (1920) * ''E. polyschistum'' Schltr., Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 7: 143 (1920) * ''E. secundum'' var. ''albescens'' (Pabst) F.Barros, Acta Bot. Brasil. 10: 142 (1996) * ''E. secundum'' f. ''albescens'' (Pabst) F.Barros, Hoehnea 29: 111 (2002) * ''E. sulfuratorium'' E.H.L.Krause, Beih. Bot. Centralbl. 36(2): 336 (1914) * ''E. tarmense'' Schltr., Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 9: 94 (1921) * ''E. tricallosum'' Schltr., Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 6: 39 (1919) * ''E. versicolor'' Hoehne & Schltr., Arch. Bot. São Paulo 1: 245 (1926)

Names

Epidendrum secundum - Jacquin - Selectarum vol

Although the Linnaean binomial "''Epidendrum secundum''" is well established by Jacquin's publication in his ''Enumeratio'' (1760) and ''Selectarum'' (1763), the seeming inappropriateness of his word choice has long been noted, not only by Dressler (1975) but also by Cogniaux in ''Flora brasiliensis'', with the listing "''Epidendrum secundum (sed floribus non secundis)'' Jacq." Unlike the illustration in ''Selectarum'', the inflorescence of this taxon is not

secund {{Short pages monitor