| Cyclopogon cranichoides | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Orchidaceae |
| Subfamily: | Orchidoideae |
| Tribe: | Cranichideae |
| Genus: | Cyclopogon |
| Species: | C. cranichoides |
| Binomial name | |
| Cyclopogon cranichoides | |
| Synonyms | |
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Cyclopogon cranichoides, also known as Speckled Ladies’ Tresses, is a terrestrial species of orchid. It grows from south Florida to the tropical Americas.
C. cranichoides is an orchid that grows in the West Indies, Central America, and northern South America. It is small compared to others of its genus, growing about 40 centimetres (16 in) tall. It grows in humus, in the moist shade of hammocks. The roots are fusiform and fleshy, growing about 4.5 by 0.4–0.8 centimetres (1.77 in × 0.16 in–0.31 in) wide and tall.
There are funnelform, tube-shaped flowers, which have green-brown dorsal sepals that are darker near the midvein and apex. Those sepals are narrow and elliptic to pandurate, being 3.5–5 by 1.2–2 millimetres (0.138 in–0.197 in × 0.047 in–0.079 in), with an acute apex. It flowers in February through March.
The proximal petals are greenish-brownish, while the distant ones are greenish-white. The petals have dark brown apical margins and midveins. They are narrowly spatulate-oblanceolate, being 4.5 by 0.5–1 millimetre (0.177 in × 0.020 in–0.039 in), and they have an acute apex.
The lip is white, canaliculate, oblong, and gets constricted as it gets farther away from the middle. It reaches 5 by 2.5 millimetres (0.197 in × 0.098 in) at the middle. It has a gibbose base with two tubercles. The apex is slightly flared.
The lateral sepals are often reflexed, and they are narrowly elliptic to narrowly pandurate. They are 4–6 by 1–1.5 millimetres (0.16 in–0.24 in × 0.04 in–0.06 in) with an acute apex.
The column is slender, at 3.5 millimetres (0.14 in) thick. The pollen is yellow, and the ovary is 4–7 millimetres (0.16–0.28 in). The capsules are ellipsoid and erect, and they are 6–8 by 3.5–4.5 millimetres (0.24 in–0.31 in × 0.14 in–0.18 in).
There are three to eight oval-shaped leaves, which are petiolate and suberect, with a greenish-purple top and a purple underside, which sometimes have white marks. The leaves are 2.5–8 by 1.3–3.8 centimetres (0.98 in–3.15 in × 0.51 in–1.50 in), and have an acute to obtuse tip.
There are pubescent mottled-purple inflorescences, and a raceme that grows up to 15 centimetres (6 in) as the fruit matures. There are mottled-lanceolate floral bracts that are longer than the ovaries.
