Epidendrum ciliare explained

Epidendrum ciliare, synonyms including Coilostylis ciliaris is a species of orchid. It is known as the fringed star orchid. It has a wide distribution from Mexico through Central America and the Caribbean to northern and western South America.

It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1759. It was transferred from Epidendrum to Coilostylis by Withner and Harding in 2004,^[1] but this is not accepted by Plants of the World Online.

The diploid chromosome number of E. ciliare has been determined from several individuals as 2n = 40, 80, and 160, the haploid chromosome number as n = 20.^[2]

The moth Pseudosphinx tetrio has been observed as a pollinator in Puerto Rico.^[3]

Notes and References

1. Withner, C. A. and Harding, P. A., Cattleyas and Their Relatives. The Debatable Epidendrums Timber Press 2004.
2. page 251 of Leonardo P. Felix and Marcelo Guerra: "Variation in chromosome number and the basic number of subfamily Epidendroideae (Orchidaceae)" Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 163(2010)234-278. The Linnean Society of London. downloaded October 2010 from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1095-8339.2010.01059.x/pdf
3. Ackerman, J. D. and A. M. Montalvo. (1990). Short-and long-term limitations to fruit production in a tropical orchid. Ecology 71(1), 263-72.