Epiphyllum crenatum
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 Flower of Epiphyllum crenatum Photo: Ulf Eliasson
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| Epiphyllum crenatum (Lindley) G. Don |
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Epiphyllum crenatum (Crenate Orchid Cactus) is a species of cactus and one of the most important parents in creating the Epiphyllum-hybrids commonly clativated through out the world. It is cultivated for it beautiful diurnal flowers.
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[edit] Common name:
Crenate Orchid Cactus
[edit] Etymology
Crenatum (lat.) = with crenations. Refers to the crenated stem margins. The variety kimnachii honours Mr. Myron Kimnach, well known botanist, mainly working with epiphytic cacti and Crassulaceae. For many years working at Berkeley University and Huntington Gardens.
[edit] History
This species was shown at an exhibition at the Horticultural Society's Garden in 1844 and won highest medal for a new introduction. It had been collected in Honduras 5 years earlier by Georges Ule Skinner and sent to Sir Charles Lemon who flowered it for the first time in 1843. Lindley thought it to have originated in the island of Antigua. E. crenatum is the only species of Epiphyllum that has been used in hybridization to any extent. Most of the colored hybrids have mainly Disocactus genes and perhaps better refered to as Disocactus-hybrids rather than Epiphyllum hybrids.
[edit] Origin and habitat
Mexico (Oaxaca & Chiapas) to Honduras. Epiphytic or lithophytic in moist or wet forests, sometimes in oak forests. 1.750 m alt. or less.
[edit] Systematics
This species is very distinct and its nearest relatives are Epiphyllum lauii and Epiphyllum anguliger. The flowers of Epiphyllum grandilobum are similar but the stem morphology is very different. Epiphyllum macropterum probably belongs here, but due to lack of type material its identity will never be known. That name must be rejected.
[edit] Cultivation
An easily cultivated, fast growing epiphyte. Needs compost containing plenty of humus and sufficient moisture in summer. Should not be kept under 12ºC (53,5ºF) in winter. Can be grown in semi-shade or full sun. Extra light in the early spring will stimulate budding. Flowers in late spring or early summer.
[edit] Description
E. crenatum var. crenatum
Stem erect to ascending, profusely brached, primary stems terete or 3-angled for a short portion at base, becoming ligneous, flat at most of their length, secondary stems flat, flattened portions to 60 cm long, to 6-10 cm wide, stiff and rather succulent, lanceolate to long linear, acute or obtuse, median nerve rather thick, margins deeply or coarsely crenate, lobes oblique; areoles at the bases of stems sometimes bearing hairs or small bristles, internodes narrow or broad; epidermis green or almost grayish green, smooth. Flowers to 18-29cm long and (10-)15--20 cm wide, nocturnal but remaining open for several days, fragrant; pericarpel 5-angled, 3 cm long, 1,5-1,7 cm thick, with acute, long-decurrent podaria, bracteoles subtening 0-2 (-8) spines to 7 mm long, green; receptacle 10-12 cm long, ca 1,5 cm thick at middle, green often reddish at apex or reddish throughout, bearing numerous linear to oblong, obtuse, ± keeled bracleoles 2-3 cm long, ± spreading; outer tepals inserted within 2 cm of receptacle apex, (7-)10-12 cm long, broadly oblanceolate-linear, greenish yellow to tawny yellow or reddish amber, the outermost sometimes margined red or streaked; inner tepals as long as outer, spathulate to oblanceolate, acuminate to mucronate, white, creamy white or greenish yellow; nectaries ca 3-4 cm long, stamens numerous, declinate, shorter than tepals, inserted in two zones thew lower one ca 4 cm long, from a point ca 4 cm from the ovary chamber, the upper zone forming a throat circle ca 2 cm above, filaments 5-7 cm long, pale yellow or pale greenish yellow; style 15-20 cm long, as long or longer than stamens, 2-3 mm thick, widest at base; stigma lobes white, 8-9, papillose. Fruit oblong to globose, the podaria long decurrent, acute.
E. crenatum var. kimnachii
Differs from the typical variety by: stems 4-6 cm wide, lobes usually semicircular; pericarpel and receptacle subterete in cross-section; pericarpel with sunconical or obtuse, shortly decurrent podaria and with bracteoles subtending ca 6 (0-20) spines to 12 mm long; outer tepals usually inserted within 4-8 cm of tube apex; fruit globose, the podaria shortly decurrent, obtuse.
[edit] Comments by Myron Kimnach, Los Angeles
"I worked in botanical gardens for many years, 11 at UC Berkeley and 25 at the Huntington. At Berkeley in the 1950s Paul Hutchison (the botanist) and I (the grower of the succulent, fern and orchid collections) built up a large collection of epiphytic cacti there. I corresponded with Charles Lankester and Clarence Horich of Costa Rica and they both sent many species to UCBG. I published some of them as new species or wrote about those that were very little known. I went to the Huntington in 1962. Epiphyllum cooperi. It's a complicated story, and, unfortunately, the two articles that relate it are not very well known. In 1964 a Mexican botanist, Helia Bravo, described Epiphyllum crenatum var. kimnachii, listing many wild herbarium collections from Oaxaca and Chiapas. I also collected many of these plants in Mexico and studied many collected by Thomas MacDougal. These all differed from var. crenatum in having many small bracts with spines at the base of the flower and the outer petals emerged for some distance below the apex of the flower. Var. crenatum (Mexico through Honduras) on the other hand had only a few bracts and no spines at the base of the flower and the outer petals all originated at the apex of the tube. 'Cooperi' (known only from cultivation) differs from var. kimnachii only in having the outer petals at the apex of the tube. It was originally claimed that 'Cooperi' was a hybrid between an Epiphyllum and a Selenicereus, but in 1997 an article was published in Haseltonia by Metz, Fröhlich, Kimnach & Meyerowitz that reported that through DNA analysis it had been shown that there was no trace of Selenicereus in 'Cooperi'. The plants used in this test were the original clone of 'Cooperi', wild forms of var. kimnachii and var. crenatum, and two species of Selenicereus. So definitely the name ×Seleniphyllum must be dropped. One has a choice of several names for 'Cooperi'. First, it is only a minor variant of var. kimnachii and is only known from cultivation, so in my opinion it's best to give it cultivar status as E. crenatum var. kimnachii 'Cooperi'. That's a long awkward name and one can of course call it Epiphyllum cooperi, but that name is not likely to be accepted botanically due to the close relationship with E. crenatum. Myron Kimnach"
Clive Innes stated that he "re-made" the cross between E. crenatum and Selenicereus grandiflorus, obtaining several plants identical with 'Cooperi', supporting the theory that it is in fact a hybrid. However, he never managed to present any plants. Clive Innes, unfortunately, did mixup facts on several occations in the past making his reports somewhat doubtful.
[edit] References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: |
- Anderson, E. F. 2001. The cactus family. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon, USA.
