Heavy strap-like roots go forth searching for ...

Heavy strap-like roots go forth searching for ...

Heavy strap-like roots go forth searching for moisture and, owing to their habit of roving and clinging to foreign objects, constitute a considerable problem in repotting.

Erect woody stems bear flowers prolifically until the weight causes them to curve gracefully.

The structure of the flowers is exquisite, the dorsal sepal rounded, shaping to a point at the top; the side petals broad and sweeping; the two lower sepals, narrower and sometimes overlapping, forming a background for the remarkable lip, crested with yellow.

Red lines in the throat seem to signal the way to the hybridizing insects, and the fore lobes of the lip are frequently elongated into curling tendrils.

An intermediate house will serve though they prefer warmer conditions.

(Listing and descriptions of species included in this genus may be found on pages 115-16.

) Epidendrum is a hardy genus to which belong a great number of so-called 'botanicals' that, because their flowers are small and of no commercial value, are of interest only to botanists.

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Stay tuned for more orchid-growing advice tomorrow! :)




Woo hoo!