- Epidendrum radicans
Taxobox
name = "Epidendrum radicans"
regnum =Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis =Liliopsida
ordo =Orchidales
familia =Orchidaceae
genus = "Epidendrum "
species = "E. radicans"
binomial = "Epidendrum radicans"binomial_authority = Lindl.
This ground-rooting orchid is a common roadside weed at middle elevations in
Central America . Acrucifix orchid , it is often confused with "E. cinnabarinum", "E. denticulatum", "E. erectum", "E. fulgens", "E. ibaguense", "E. incisum", "E. schomburgkii", "E. secundum", and "E. xanthinum", among others. Perhaps the most diagnostic characteristic of "E. radicans" is its tendency to sprout roots all along the length of the stem; most other crucifix orchids only produce roots near the base. Additionally, "E. radicans" flowers are resupinate (the bud develops with the lip uppermost but then twists around to present the lip at the bottom of the open flower), unlike the members of the "Epidendrum secundum" complex, "E. fulgens", and many other crucifix orchids. "E. radicans" also differs from "E. secundum" by bearing no nectar in the flower."E. radicans" is part of a complex of several orange-flowered, weedy species (including "
Asclepias spp".) that are unrelated but ecologically similar. Species within this group share pollinators as well as habitat, and are believed to exhibit what is known asconvergent evolution , where unrelated species "converge" upon similar physical characteristics as a result of similar evolutionary pressures. Paulette Bierzychudek studied pollinator behavior in the apparent complex consisting of "E. radicans", "Asclepias curassavicia", and "Lantana camara", but could not find clear evidence that floral mimicry was affecting pollination rates for any of the three species.References
*Pansarin, E. R., and Amaral, M. C. E.: "Reproductive biology and pollination mechanisms of "Epidendrum secundum" (Orchidaceae). Floral variation: a consequence of natural hybridization?" Plant Biology 10 (2008) 211-219
*Paulette Bierzychudek: "Asclepias", "Lantana", and "Epidendrum": A Floral Mimicry Complex?" Biotropica, 13, 2, Supplement: Reproductive Botany (Jun., 1981), pp. 54-58, published by The Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation
*Dressler, R. L.: "Will the Real "Epidendrum ibaguense" please stand up?" American Orchid Society Bulletin, 58(1989) pages 796 - 800.
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