ROLE OF PSEUDOBULBS IN GROWTH AND FLOWERING OF CATASETUM VIRIDIFLAVUM (ORCHIDACEAE).

In Catasetum viridiflavum Hook., a drought-deciduous orchid from central Panama that produces unisexual flowers, plants possess up to nine annually-produced pseudobulbs. I investigated the role of these structures in plant growth and flowering by 1) relating annual shoot size and flower production to the size and number of pseudobulbs possessed by plants, 2) experimentally severing connections between young and old pseudobulbs when plants were dormant and monitoring their subsequent vegetative growth and flowering, and 3) determining the seasonal variation in water content, total nonstructural carbohydrates, nitrogen, and phosphorus in pseudobulbs. In small plants (1 to 3 pseudobulbs) pseudobulb stores appeared important to both vegetative growth and flowering. In larger (= older) plants, pseudobulb number was not related to vegetative growth and experimental separations of young from old pseudobulbs did not affect growth. However, flower production by experimental plants was significantly reduced relative to controls. Male plants were usually smaller than female plants in the areas studied; however, experimental reductions of pseudobulb number did not affect the sex expression of plants. All measured nutritional components of pseudobulbs exhibited significant seasonal variation. Carbohydrates appeared most important for supporting growth immediately following dormancy. Nitrogen and phosphorus were less important for this role and may have been more important for determining the number of flowers produced by plants.