Coelogyne cristata Lindley 1821 SECTION Coelogyne Photo courtesy of Jean Claude George
Inflorescence Photo by © Eric Hunt and His Orchid Website
Alba Variety Photo by © Karel & Alex Petrzelka and the Vietnam Orchid Website
Flower Opening Video - takes a few seconds to download Photo courtesy of Andrew Krukov of Russia.
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MID 
To EARLY
Common Name or Meaning The Crested Coelogyne [refers to the keels of the lip]
Flower Size Up to 4" [up to 10 cm]
This species is from the western Himalayas, Eastern Himalayas, Assam, Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim and Java in lower to upper montane forests at altitudes of 1500 to 2600 meters and is a small to medium sized, cool to cold growing epiphyte and occasional lithophyte with oblong, smooth, clustered to well spaced pseudobulbs carrying 2, apical, plicate, 3 to 10 nerved, narrowly lanceolate, sessile, acute, slightly undulate leaves that blooms on a terminal, pendulous to semi-erect, 6 to 12" [15 to 30 cm] long, racemose, few to several [3 to 10], fragrant flowered inflorescence with persistant bracts arising basally on a mature growth and occuring from mid-winter till spring. They have ovoid psuedobulbs well spaced on a visible rhizome with two narrowly lanceolate, flexible leaves . In the wild they have year round fog and mist and very bright winter and grow on mossy trees or on exposed rock outcrops.
Synonyms Cymbidium speciosissimum D. Don 1825; Pleione speciosissima (D.Don) Kuntze 1891
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
AOS Bulletin Vol 26 No 10 1957 drawing; AOS Bulletin Vol 47 No 7 1978; AOS Bulletin Vol 52 No 5 1983 photo; AOS Bulletin Vol 53 No 1 1984 photo; AOS Bulletin Vol 54 No 3 1985; AOS Bulletin Vol 61 No 3/238 1991 photo; AOS Bulletin Vol 63 No 10 1994 photo; AOS Bulletin Vol 69 No 12 2000 drawing; Beautiful Orchids of Nepal Rajbhandari & Bhattarai 2001; Australian Orchid Review Vol 67 No 4 2002 photo; The Genus Coelogyne A Synopsis, D A Clayton 2002; Orchids of Bhutan Pearce & Cribb 2002; Australian Orchid Review Vol 69 No 2 2004 photo; AOS Bulletin Vol 73 No 3 2004; AOS Bulletin Vol 75 No 1 2006; Miniature Orchdis Frownie 2007
Coelogyne cristata Lindley 1821 var alba
Coelogyne cristata Lindley var. lemoniana Lindley 1821
Flower Size under 4" [6 to 9 cm]
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