Orchidaceae

Cockleshell orchid

Prosthechea cochleata (L.) W.E.Higgins

Family: Orchidaceae
Genus: Prosthechea

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Common names

By language (4)

Chinese: 围柱兰, 章鱼兰
English: Cockleshell orchid, Clamshell orchid
French: Orchidée coquillage
Persian: ارکیده گوشماهی, ارکیده سیاه, ارکیده گوش ماهی, ارکیدهٔ سیاه, ارکیدهٔ گوش ماهی, پروسته چئا کوچله آتا

Synonyms

Anacheilium cochleatum (L.) Hoffmanns.
Encyclia cochleata (L.) Dressler
Epidendrum cochleatum L.
Phaedrosanthus cochleatus (L.) Kuntze

Characteristics

Growth habit: Forb/herb
Lifespan: Perennial
In the US and Canada: Lower 48 states: native, Puerto Rico: native, U.S. Virgin Islands: native

Photos

Photo: D. Joshua Zampini, CC BY 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Wikimedia Commons contributor, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Wikimedia Commons contributor, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Wikimedia Commons contributor, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Gaurav1146 assumed, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Doris Lohmann from Bergisch Gladbach/Köln, Germany - NRW, CC BY-SA 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Arne and Bent Larsen, Haarby, Denmark, CC BY-SA 2.5, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Cedricguppy, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Nacasma, CC BY 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Nacasma, CC BY 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Greg Steenbeeke, CC BY-SA 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons

More in Prosthechea

Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.