Vanilla barbellata Rchb.f 1865 SUBGENUS Xanata SECTION Tethya

Photo by © Rick Cruz and his Photography Website

Another Flower?

Photo by Mark Nir and Orchidaceae Antillannae

Florida Keys Type

Growing Tip

Plant Base and Host Tree

Photos by © Jay Pfahl

Inflorescence in situ Florida Keys

Plant and flowers in situ Florida Keys

Photos by Alison Higgins-Land Stewardship Coordinator-The Nature Conservancy of the Florida Keys

Flower and Plant in situ Big Pine Key

Photo by Yvonne Kostic

to and

Common Name Link-Vine; Worm-Vine; Snake Orchid; Leafless Vanilla - The Small Bearded Vanilla

Flower Size 2" [5 cm]

Found in south Florida, Cuba, the Bahamas, Dominican Republic, the Leeward Islands and Puerto Rico at sealevel to 500 meters as a large sized hot to warm growing epiphyte with terete, branching, succulent stems carrying, linear-lanceolate, short-lived, acute, conduplicate and recurved leaves that blooms in the spring and summer on a short, axillary, fleshy, racemose, several to 12 flowered inflorescence with broadly ovate to triangular, obtuse floral bracts and carrying fleshy, fragrant, short-lived, successive opening flowers.

"Vanilla barbellata is one of the commonest species in the Caribbean Islands and Florida. It is distinguished by its relatively small flowers and conspicuously 3-lobed, truncate lip. The holotype of V. bakeri was destroyed at B; the only duplicate of it is housed at HAC, but it has only fruits. The original description of the flower suggests that it may have been based in an immature bud of V. barbellata, but details of the lip ornamentation do not coincide with the morphology of that species. The lectotype, although sterile, corresponds with the morphology of V. barbellata, the fruits being smaller those of V. dilloniana. Its flowering season also corresponds to that of V. barbellata and there is also an additional collection of V. barbellata from the same locality (León 6278 HAC!)." Soto Arenas & Cribb 2010

Synonyms Vanilla articulata Northrop. 1902; Vanilla bakeri Schltr.1910

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Symbolae Antillanae Vol VI Orchidaceae Urban 1909; Symbolae Antillanae Vol VI Orchidaceae Urban 1909 as V articulata; AOS Bulletin Vol 15 # 12 1946 drawing fide; Encyclopedia of Cultivated Orchids Hawkes 1965 drawing fide; The Native Orchids of FLorida Luer 1972 drawing/photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 44 #8 1975; Fairchild Tropical Garden Bulletin Vol 47 No 2 1992 photo; AOS Bulletin Vol 62 No 10 1993 photo fide; Phylogeny and Classification of the Orchid Family Dressler 1993 photo fide; An Orchid Flora of Peurto Rico and the Virgin Islands Ackerman 1995 drawing fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 69 No 4 2000 photo; Orchidaceae Antillanae Nir 2000; Moscosoa 13:123 2002 ; AOS Bulletin Vol 72 No 3 2003 photo fide; The Orchids of Cuba Llamacho & Larramendi 2005 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 75 No 11 2006 photo fide; Lankesteriana 9(3): 355-398 Soto Arenas & Cribb 2010 a V bakeri; Lankesteriana 9(3): 355-398 Soto Arenas & Cribb 2010; AOS Bulletin Vol 80 #5 2011 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 80 #5 2011 as V dilloniana drawing fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 80 #6 2011

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