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Coryanthes speciosa Hook.
- Common Name: Bucket Orchid
- Family: Orchidaceae Juss.
- Country of Origin: Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Trinidad
- Habitat: Lowland Forest to 1200m
- Description: Coryanthes grow in antnests in lowland humid and wet forests up to 1200m. The genus is found in conjunction with mud antnests, of the ant genera Camponotus and Azteca, that resemble hornets nests around a branch of a large tree.
Coryanthes are pollinated by Male bees of the genera Euglossa, Eulaema and Euplusia are the sole pollenators of the Coryanthes. They are attracted to the plant by the flower's heavy odor. The bee lands on the hypochile and searches for the fragrance compounds. When the bee goes below the hood it looses it's footing on the hard waxy mesochile surface and falls into the bucket which is filled with a mucilaginous liquid which the plant secretes from the pleuridia, or faucet gland, which is at the base of the column. The bees only escape is to crawl through the tunnel formed by the epichile of the lip and the column. The bee first touches the stigma and then the gluey viscidium which attaches to the back of the bee.
- Culture: The inflorescence arises from the base of the psuedobulb and hangs straight down through the medium. For this reason a wire basket or mounting on a slab of tree fern is mandatory to accomodate the bloom spike.
Coyanthes are often found in conjuction with ant nests and due to the prescence of formic acid, the pH of the media should be quite acidic. Many orchids of this genus have been found growing in media with a pH as low as 3. Coryanthes is a warm grower, requiring high humidity and no rest period. Water may be withheld slightly in dark winter weather but plants should not be allowed to dry out at any time.
Restrictions:- CITES Appendix II Listed Plant
Images of this accession: {and/or its current location}
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  Accession Data:- Accession # 200202426
- Source: Teddi Bloniarz - UMass Amherst
- Accession Date: 09-30-2002
- Bench: 3213 - Paphs & Phrags Bench
- Qty: 1 confirmed on 02-07-2011
Classification:- Division: Magnoliophyta
- Class: Liliopsida
- SubClass: monocots
- Order: Asparagales
- SubOrder:
- Family: Orchidaceae
- SubFamily: Epidendroideae
- Tribe: Maxillarieae
- SubTribe: Stanhopeinae
References:Inte rnet Orchid Photo Encyclopedia - last visited 30 Sept 2002
page generated on Tue, 21 Feb 2012 00:18:54 -0500
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