Catasetum saccatum Lindley 1840 MALE SUBGENUS Catasetum SECTION Catasetum

Photo by © Weyman Bussey, Plant grown by Howard Gunn

Another Flower

Photo by © Jay Pfahl

Another Flower

Photo by © Lourens Grobler

Female Flower

Female Flower Closeup

Female Flower Side View

Photos by © Weyman Bussey, plant grown by Dr. Yin Tung Wang.

Comparisson of the tpye on the left to variety christyanum on the right

Photo by © H Teuscher

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Common Name The Sack-Shaped Catasetum

Flower Size 4" [9 to 10 cm]

Found in Guyana, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil in tropical montane forests on many different types of trees at altitudes of 200 to 1700 meters as a large sized, variable, caespitose, hot to cool growing epiphyte , with fusiform, elongate pseudobulbs with 4 to 7 elliptic-lanceolate, petiolate, acute leaves that blooms from the early winter through spring on an erect or pendant, 8" to 16" [25 to 68 cm] long, loose to many [3 to 21] flowered, bracteate, racemose inflorescence carrying fragrant flowers arising on a nearly mature pseudobulb

Like most Catasetum, needs a definite rest period after the blooming season when it will drop its leaves. The flowers are different in that they can eject their pollina up to 8 ft from the plant. This species enjoys nearly full sunlight, warmth, plenty of water and fertilizer and only needs a rest if it has become obviously dormant.

See also Catasetum incurvum which is often cited as a synonym of C saccatum but has sufficient differences to be kept a species in it's own right. They differ in the size of the flowers, the lip and the densly flowered inflorescence.

Synonyms Catasetum baraquinianum Lemaire 1862; Catasetum christyanum Rchb.f 1882; Catasetum christyanum var. chlorops Rchb.f. 1882; Catasetum christyanum var. obscurum Rchb.f. 1844; Catasetum colossus Schltr. 1925; Catasetum cruciatum Schlechter 1915; Catasetum histrio Klotsch ex Rchb.f ?; Catasetum japurense Mansf. 1930; Catasetum saccatum var chlorops Rchb.f 1882; Catasetum saccatum var. christyanum (Rchb.f.) Mansf. 1932; Catasetum saccatum var. eusaccatum Mansf. 1932; Catasetum saccatum var. pliciferum Rchb.f 1869; Catasetum saccatum var. typum Hoehne 1942; Catasetum secundum Klotsch ex Rchb.f 1854; Catasetum stupendum Cogn. 1895

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Flora Brasilica Vol XII VI Hoehne 1942 as C japurense; Flora Brasilica Vol XII VI Hoehne 1942 drawing fide; Flora Brasilica Vol XII VI Hoehne 1942 as Forma viride; Flora Brasilica Vol XII VI Hoehne 1942 as var chlorops; Flora Brasilica Vol XII VI Hoehne 1942 as var chrystianum drawing ok; Flora Brasilica Vol XII VI Hoehne 1942 as var pliciferum; AOS Bulletin Vol 30 No 3 1961 photo; AOS Bulletin Vol 31 #1 1962 photo fide; Orchids of Peru vol 3 Schweinfurth 1958; Encyclopedia of Cultivated Orchids Hawkes 1965 as C christyanum; Flora de Venezuela Volumen XV Part 4 Foldats 1970 drawing fide; Orchidaceae Brasilensis band 1 Pabst & Dungs 1976 drawing fide; Orchidaceae Brasilensis band 1 Pabst & Dungs 1976 as C saccatum var album drawing fide; Orchidaceae Brasilensis band 1 Pabst & Dungs 1976 as C saccatum var chrisianum drawing fide; Icones Planetarum Tropicarum Plate 514 Vasquez & Dodson 1982 drawing fide; An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Orchids Pridgeon 1982, AOS Bulletin Vol 56 No 5 1987 Photo fide; Native Colombian Orchids Vol 1 COS 1990 photo fide; The Manual of Cultivated Orchids Bechtel, Cribb and Laurent 1992; Rudolf Schlechter Die Orchideen Band 1B lieferung 26 1584 - 1648 Brieger 1992 photo fide; Rudolf Schlechter Die Orchideen Band 1B lieferung 26 1584 - 1648 Brieger 1992 as C saccatum var chrystianum;Rudolf Schlechter Die Orchideen Band 1B lieferung 26 1584 - 1648 Brieger 1992 as C japurense; Native Ecuadorian Orchids Vol 1 Dodson 1993 drawing/photo fide; Orchids of Brazil McQueen 1993 photo fide; Orchids of Brazil McQueen 1993 C sacattum var cristyanum photo fide; Manual Of Orchids Stewart 1995; Orchid Digest Vol 59 No 1 1995 photo fide; Icones Orchidacearum Peruviarum Plate 418 Bennet & Christenson 1998 drawing ok; The World Of Catasetum Holtz 1999 drawing/photo fide; Botanica's Orchids Laurel Glen 2002; Australian Orchid Review Vol 68 No 1 2003 photo; Flora's Orchids Nash & La Croix 2005; Flora Of Ecuador # 76 225[2] Dodson & Luer 2005; Orchid Species of Peru Zelenko Bermudez 2009 photo fide; Orquideas del Peru Freuler 2010 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 80 #6 2011 photo fide; Las Orquideas del Peru Izerskyy & Bezverhov 2011 photo fide; Orquideas de Roirama Luz & Franco 2012 photo good; Orquideas de Zamora Chinchipe Tomo 1 Epidendroideae Jimenez & Jimenez 2014 photo fide; Orchid Digest Vol 79 #3 2015 photo fide; Orchid Digest Vol 80 #4 2016 photo fide; Orchid Digest Vol 81 #2 2017 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 86 #8 2017 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol #9 2019 drawing fide; Orchids, A Colombian Treasure Vol 1 Ortiz & Uribe 2014 drawing/photo fide

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