Tropidia polystachya

Plants to 70 cm. Roots several from rhizome, brown, 0.5-3 mm diam., villous. Rhizomes 2.5-4 mm diam. Stems partially concealed by bladeless tubular sheaths proximally when young, naked when older, covered by leaf sheaths distally, usually branched, terete, 31-55 cm × 2-4 mm. Leaves several; sheaths clasping stem, 4-4.5 cm; blade oblong-lanceolate, 6-27 × 2.4-6.7 cm, apex acuminate. Inflorescences: peduncles 3.5-14 cm; panicles 3-48-flowered, dense, subglobular, 2.5-9 × 3-6.5 cm; floral bracts linear to lanceolate, 4-10 mm, apex acuminate to subulate. Flowers 8-12 mm; sepals greenish white, 5-veined; dorsal sepal concave, oblong to elliptic, 6.5-7 × 2-2.5 mm, apex acute to obtuse; lateral sepals somewhat gibbous, lanceolate-oblong, slightly falcate, 5.5-6.5 × 1.7-2 mm, apex acute; petals white, 3-veined, somewhat falcate, lanceolate to elliptic-oblanceolate, 5-6 × 1.5-2 mm, apex acute; lip embracing column, white with yellow spot on disc, oblong, 4.5-6 × 2 mm, constricted at middle, apex retuse, sometimes obscurely 4-lobed; disc 2-lamellate and flabellate distally; column 4-4.5 mm. Capsules ribbed, 10-14 × 3-6 mm.

Flowering Sep--Mar. Moist hardwood hammocks; 0--20 m; Fla.; Mexico; West Indies; Central America; South America (Galapagos Islands).