Habenaria aitchisonii Rchb.f. 1886 SECTION Diphyllae Kraenzl. Photos by Sun Hang © and Courtesy of the Flora of Pakistan Website

EARLY

Common Name Aitchison's Habenaria [English Physiscian and Botanist in India 1800's]

Flower Size .2 to .28" [5 to 7 mm]

Found in Afghanistan, Pakistan, western Himalayas, Chinese Himalayas, eastern Himalayas and Nepal in open forests on sandstone at elevations of 3000 to 3950 meters as a miniature to medium sized, cold growing terretrial with cylindric tubers giving rise to 2, basal, adpressed to the ground, subopposite, orbicular to broadly ovate, acute, sessile, thick, softly glandular-pubescent leaves with adpressed, lacneoalte, acute stembracts above that blooms in the summer and early fall on an erect, subsecund, subdensely many flowered, 1.4 to 8" [3.5 to 20 cm] long, inflorescence with lacneoalte, acute floral bracts and carrying erect, adpressed to the rachis flowers.

Synonyms Habenaria bihamata Kraenzl. 1921; Habenaria brachyphylla (Lindl.) Aitch. 1882; Habenaria diceras Schltr.1912; Habenaria pubicaulis Schltr.1924

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Orchids of Bhutan Pearce & Cribb 2002;

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