Calanthe puberula Lindl. 1833 SECTION Calanthe

Plant and Flower in situ China

Photo by © Orchid Society of China Website

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Common Name The Hairy Calanthe - In China Lian E Xia Ji Lan

Flower Size 1.2" [3 cm]

Found in the western Himalayas, the eastern Himalayas, Assam, Nepal, Bangladesh, Thailand, southeast Xizang and southeast and western Yunnan provinces of China as well as Vietnam in moist evergreen broad leaved forests at elevations of 1200 to 3000 meters as a warm to cold growing terrestrial with narrowly cylindric pseduobulbs carrying 4 to 5, basal, green, well developed at blooming, not deciduous, elliptic to elliptic-oblong, glabrous to sparsely puberulent along the veins abaxially, plicate, 5 veined, acute to acuminate apically, gradually narrowing below into the petiolate base leaves that blooms in the late spring and summer on 1 to 2, arsing from near the apex of the pseudobulb, erect, slender, 9.2 to 16" [23 to 40 cm] long, laxly 4 to 10 flowered inflorescence with several, lanceolate, sterile sheaths and persistent, lanceolate, abaxially puberulent, long aciuminate apically floral bracts.

This species and C reflexa have often been considered conspecific. Differences appear to be in the lip structure and bloom time.

Synonyms Alismorkis puberula (Lindl.) Kuntze 1891; Calanthe amoena W.W.Sm. 1921; Calanthe lepida W.W.Sm. 1921; Calanthe okushirensis Miyabe & Tatew. 1936; Calanthe puberula var. formosana (Murata) M.Hiroe 1971; Calanthe puberula var. okushirensis (Miyabe & Tatew.) M.Hiroe 1971; Calanthe reflexa var. okushirensis (Miyabe & Tatew.) Ohwi 1953; Calanthe reflexa var. formosana Murata 1962; Calanthe reflexa var. puberula (Lindl.) Kudo 1930; Calanthe similis Schltr. 1919; Paracalanthe reflexa var. puberula (Lindl.) Kudô 1930

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; The Orchids of Sikkim-Himalaya Part 1 King & Pantling 1898 drawing fide; The Orchids of North-Western Himalaya Vol IX Part II Duthie 1906; Flora of China Vol 25 Zhengyi, Raven & Deyuan 2009; The Wild Orchids in Yunnan Xu Xiang Ye & Liu 2010 photos ok

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