Calanthe alpina

Calanthe alpina
Systematics
Domain	Eukaryotes Eukaryotic
Kingdom	Plants Plantae
Division	Vascular plants Tracheophyta
Class	Monocot flowering plants Liliopsida
Order	Asparagales Asparagales
Family	Orchids Orchidaceae
Genus	Calanthe
Species	Calanthe alpina
Scientific name
§Calanthe alpina

Plants 25-50 cm tall. Rhizome inconspicuous. Pseudobulbs narrowly conic, small, ca. 7 mm in diam. Leaves 3, well developed at anthesis, not deciduous; blade elliptic or obovate-elliptic, 11-26 × 3-6(-9) cm, apex obtuse-rounded and mucronate or acute; petiole-like base sheathing, sometimes forming a pseudostem to ca. 7 cm. Scape 1 or rarely 2, arising from leaf axils, erect, 30-50 cm, sparsely puberulent; rachis 3-12 cm, laxly to densely 3- to more than 10-flowered; floral bracts persistent, narrowly lanceolate, ca. 1.5 cm, glabrous, apex acuminate. Flowers pale yellow-green, with pink-purple blotches and striations; pedicel and ovary ca. 20 mm, sparsely puberulent. Dorsal sepal subelliptic, 15-20 × 5-6 mm, 5-veined, apex aristate; lateral sepals ovate-lanceolate, 15-20 × 6-7 mm, 5-veined, apex aristate. Petals narrowly oblong to ovate-lanceolate, 12-13 × 4-4.5 mm, 3-veined, apex acute to acuminate; lip basally adnate to base of column wings, pale greenish white, basal half yellow, apical half with purplish red striations, suborbicular-flabellate, ca. 8 × 15 mm, base broadly truncate, unlobed, apical margin fimbriate, apex emarginate; spur straight, yellow or pale violet, cylindric, 15-35 × 3-5 mm, apex obtuse. Column white, ca. 8 mm, dilated at apex, glabrous; rostellum 2-lobed; lobes ca. 1 mm; pollinia obovoid, ca. 1.3 mm, with short caudicles; viscidium suboblong, small. Capsule obovoid-elliptic, ca. 2 × 1.5 cm. Fl. Nov. 2n = 40, 42.

Forests, grassy slopes; 1500-3500 m. S Gansu, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Taiwan, S and SE Xizang, W Yunnan [Bhutan, NE India, Japan, Nepal].

CITIES category : Appendix II

References 

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