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Cranichis muscosa Sw.

Cypress-knee helmet orchid (en)

Species

Angiosperms > Asparagales > Orchidaceae > Cranichis

Characteristics

Plants to 50 cm. Roots 2–3 mm diam. Leaves 4–8, basal; petiole erect; blade spreading, broadly elliptic with several prominent arching veins, 2–9 × 1–4 cm. Inflorescences glabrous; scape bracts leafy, short; raceme 1–15 cm; floral bracts lanceolate, shorter than ovary. Flowers mostly white, glabrous; dorsal sepal 3-veined, elliptic-lanceolate, 3–4 × 1.5–2 mm; lateral sepals 3-veined, obliquely ovate-lanceolate to ovate, 4 × 2 mm; petals 1-veined, linear, 2–3.5 × 1 mm, margins facing lip minutely ciliate, apex blunt; lip white, spotted green or pale yellow, ovate-subquadrangular, to 4 × 2.5 mm, distal margins undulate; column prominently winged, 1.5–2 mm; pollinia yellow, elongate; pedicellate ovary 3–6 mm. Capsules erect-spreading, ellipsoid-cylindric, 8–10 × 3–4 mm.
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Small terrestrial herbs 10-38 cm. tall. Leaves petiolate, basal or semi-basal, usually with leaf-like'bracts at the base of the scape, which are reduced upward; lamina 3-8 cm. long and 1-4 cm. broad, elliptic, elliptic-oval or oval, acute or obtuse, membranaceous; petiole 1-8 cm. long, usually a little shorter than the lamina.' Dorsal sepal about 2.5 mm. long and 1 mm. broad, elliptic-lanceolate, cucullate, obtuse or acute. Lateral sepals about 2.5 mm. long and 1 mm. broad, ovate-lanceolate, oblique, obtuse or acute. Petals 2-3 mm. long and 0.3-0.5 mm. broad, linear or linear-oblanceolate. Lip 2.5-3 mm. long and 1.5-2 mm. broad, simple, strongly cucullate, elliptic-oval to oblong-oval, acute or acutish. Column 1-1.5 mm. long.
Life form perennial
Growth form herb
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention -
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 0.3 - 0.5
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
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Environment

Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture -
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Hardiness (USDA) 9-12

Usage

Uses -
Edible -
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Mode -
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
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Size -
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Productivity -

Images

Cranichis muscosa unspecified picture

Distribution

Cranichis muscosa world distribution map, present in Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Brazil, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Jamaica, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, United States of America, and Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:624587-1
WFO ID wfo-0000926594
COL ID Z4WC
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID 629436
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Cranichis bradei Cranichis muscosa
WorldFloraDB 2024