A while ago, from memory, I was commenting to an orchid friend that my plants of Catasetum integerrimum were producing (branching) upward-growing roots from the habitual roots. At that time, I equivocally used the _expression_ 'food basket'.
After reading Dressler's description of the feature ( "a 'trash basket' ... collect debris, which then forms humus about the plant roots, where the minerals released by decay are readily available to the plant" -- The orchids: natural history and classification, page 90), I was tempted to use the _expression_ 'debris collector' but, for the sake of clarity, we should probably adopt the _expression_ used by Rumphius (ca 1627-1702) who, according to Arditti, was the first author to describe the feature (see Fundamentals of Orchid Biology -- illustration, caption : p. 589).
Have you read the original publication by Rumphius in which he described the feature ?
What is the _expression_ used in Deutsch ?
Does the author described the feature in Latin ?
Comments, suggestions and speculations are welcome but any assertion supported by quotes and references are certainly more convincing and instructive.
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Regards,
Viateur
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