Catasetum macroglossum is found in Southwestern Ecuador, Venezuela, and Colombia. It grows in wet tropical forest inland of the Cerros de Colonche of Ecuador, on living palms and dead tree limbs, at elevations of 30 to 600 meters.
Catasetum macroglossum also called as The Large-Lipped Catasetum, is a species of the genus Catasetum. This species was described by Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach in 1877.
IDENTIFY CATASETUM MACROGLOSSUM ORCHID PLANT
Catasetum macroglossum is found in Southwestern Ecuador, Venezuela, and Colombia. It grows in wet tropical forest inland of the Cerros de Colonche of Ecuador, on living palms and dead tree limbs, at elevations of 30 to 600 meters.
It is a medium sized, hot to warm growing, caespitose epiphyte with fusiform, Pseudobulbs to 21 cm long and 3.3 cm wide pseudobulbs enveloped by foliaceous sheaths and narrowly oblong-lanceolate acuminate, thin, 48 cm long and 6.2 cm wide leaves.
The Large-Lipped Catasetum blooms in the summer and fall in cultivation and late fall and early winter in nature on a basal, erect to horizontal, 30 cm long, sub-umbelliform, several flowered, racemose inflorescence arising on a newly formed, mature pseudobulb. The flowers are 6 cm in diameter with coloration of peduncle almond green; bracts lighter green; sepals and petals pale green with about 11 rather indistinct longitudinal dark yellow-green veins; lip green with faint striping outside, glossy dark yellow-green mottling inside the sac; column green, cream-colored around the pseudostigma.
The key to identify this species is its lip non-resupinate and hood-shaped with fleshy semicircular callus just inside the apex. The flowers green to yellow-green, sometimes with some maroon. A highly variable species that hybridizes with Catasetum expansum in Ecuador, according to the literature.
CATASETUM MACROGLOSSUM ORCHID PLANT CARE AND CULTURE
Cultural information should only be used as a guide, and should be to be adapted to suit you. Your physical location; where you grow your plants, how much time you have to devote to their care, and many other factors, will need to be taken into account. Only then can you decide on the cultural methods that best suit you and your plants.
Light:
Catasetum macroglossum are sun-loving plant and needs a light level of 30000-60000 lux. Unless the strong air movement found in the natural habitat can be duplicated, however, the grower should provide some shade (40-60 % shade). This species can be grown under lights if sufficient light intensity can be provided, and the plant certainly can be summered outdoors if their moisture requirements can be met.
Temperature:
In their natural habitat, the climate is evenly hot, moist, and tropical. This climate is almost the same year-round, with high humidity at night, even in the dry season, which is relatively short. The nighttime temperatures rarely fall below 18°C, with daytime highs generally from 29 to 35°C. The important thing is to maintain evenly warm conditions, and for this orchid the closer the night minimum is to 21°C, the better the plants will respond.
Humidity:
The Large-Lipped Catasetum tolerate an environment with 40 - 60 % relative humidity during their growing season, but for optimal development of new growth and flowering, 70 % is recommended.
Substrate, growing media and repotting:
Catasetum macroglossum can be grown in pot or basket with a very coarse mix as substrate. It is recommended to repot every year and never wait more than two years. The optimal time for potting or repotting is when new growth on a plant emerging from dormancy is about 5 cm tall and the nubs have developed into new roots that are reaching for support.
Watering:
In its natural habitat it receives rainfall frequently even while dormant. Basket-grown, and unconventionally potted plant may be watered every sunny day during the growing season, provided conditions are such that they dry off relatively quickly. In the case of conventionally potted adult plants, it should not be necessary to water more than once or, at most, twice a week. This species like to dry out at least slightly between waterings.
Fertilizer:
Fertilize with an appropriate formulation at least every week during the growing season, or fertilize with a weak formula every time the plants are watered. It is important to begin regular applications of high-nitrogen fertilizer (such as 10-5-5) with a full range of trace elements. As the leaves begin to unfurl, and well before flowering, add a high-phosphorus formula to develop big, strong pseudobulbs capable of producing robust inflorescences. Any of the soluble products with a large second-digit number (for example, 3-12-6) constitute a good source of phosphorus.
Rest period:
Catasetum macroglossum have a relatively short dormant period between leaf fall and new growth, and sometimes no dormancy at all, so the likelihood that at least some of their basic root system will survive from one growing season to the next increases. For this reason it is desirable to maintain a watering schedule, albeit reduced, during dormancy.
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