Malaxis resupinata (G.Forst.) Kuntze 1891Photo by © Jayesh Patil and his Flicker Photo Site

Full shade Hot LATESpringSummer

Common Name The Resupinate Malaxis

Flower Size .25" [6mm]

Found in India? [see below], New Guinea? Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Wallis & Futuna, Niue, Cook Islands, Santa Cruz Islands and Tubuai and French Polynesia in rainforests at sea level to 500 meters as a small sized, hot growing terrestrial with a creeping rhizome giving rise to an erect, fleshy leafy stem carrying obliquely ovate, acute, pale green, wavy margined, gradually narrowing below into the petiolate base leaves that blooms in the late spring and summer on a terminal, erect, purple, 8.4 to 18" [21 to 45 cm] long, laxly to densely many flowered inflorescence. Cribb says the flowers are non-resupinate but that would contradict the scientific name?

CAUTION I am not sure of this determination, Kew has it occuring only in the western Pacific, the flowers in the photo are from India and were labeled Malaxis rheedei, they seem to be the same as the drawing in Die Orchideen Band 3 Sonderabdruck aus Schlechter Brieger, Maatsch and Senghas # 42 Liparinae 1984 for this species

Synonyms Crepidium plantagineum (Hook. & Arn.) M.A.Clem. & D.L.Jones 1996; Crepidium resupinatum (G.Forst.) Szlach. 1995; *Epidendrum resupinatum G.Forst. 1786; Malaxis rheedei Sw. 1800; Microstylis resupinata (G.Forst.) Drake 1892; Microstylis rheedei (Sw.) Lindl. 1830; Pterochilus plantagineus Hook. & Arn. 1832; Seidenfia rheedei (Sw.) Szlach. 1995

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Die Orchideen Band 3 Sonderabdruck aus Schlechter Brieger, Maatsch and Senghas # 42 Liparinae 1984 as M rheedii drawing ok; Orchids of the Solomon Islands and Bouganville Lewis & Cribb 1991; Orchids of Samoa Cribb & Whistler 1996; The Orchids of India A Glimpse Misra 2007 as Seidenfia rheedii

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------