Species · genus Epidendrum · Orchidaceae

Lopsided Star Orchid

Epidendrum secundum Jacq.

Also known as: Thicket Star Orchid

Growth habit

perennial or epiphyte

Native range

French Guiana, Guyana, Leeward Is., Trinidad-Tobago, Venezuela, Venezuelan Antilles, Windward Is.

Reference · E. secundum

Cultivars of E. secundum

The named forms growers keep — each with its own page, each honest about how much we know.

No named cultivars catalogued under E. secundum yet. When growers document a stable, named form, it earns its own page here.

Guide

The species-level account. Cultivar pages build on this and say where they differ.

Epidendrum secundum is an epiphytic orchid from the warm, humid Caribbean and northern South American tropics, where its roots cling to bark and drain fast after rain. Grow it in an open, airy orchid mix or mounted, with bright indirect light and good airflow. Water when the roots have gone silvery and the medium is nearly dry, roughly every 5 to 10 days, and never let it sit wet.

Care recipe

The species record — the baseline every cultivar inherits unless it says otherwise.

Care notes are early — not yet verified

Light: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Water: ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 5-10d)
Humidity: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Soil: ai:claude-fable-5
Care: ai:claude-fable-5

Light

Bright, indirect

Water

≈ every 10 days

Humidity

High

Temperature

15–29 °C

Soil mix

Airy, sharply draining orchid mix

Propagation

Keiki offsets or stem cuttings

Fertilizing

Weak orchid feed every 2 weeks while active

Growth rate

Moderate

Flowering

Dense heads of lilac-pink starry flowers in bright light

ToxicityAuthoritative · species

Not yet documented

This is where toxicity lives — every cultivar of this species inherits it and none can override it.

Reference images

Every image credited. Licenses link to their deeds.

No reference gallery yet

A few clear photos — habit, a mature leaf, a flower if it blooms — would give this page its eyes.

Add images

Sources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 5-10d) · ai:claude-fable-5

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow Lopsided Star Orchid yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — is exactly what keeps this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.