!Phaius tankervilliae [Banks]Blume 1852 Photo By Lourens Grobler

Flower Closeup Photo Courtesy of Dale and Deni Borders

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Common Name Nun's Orchid - Kunai [tall grass] Orchid - Emma Tankerville's Phaius [English Orchid Enthusiast]

Flower Size 4 1/2" [11.5 cm]

This large, terrestrial species is a hot to warm growing native of Australia, the Pacific Islands, Malaysia, Indonesia, and southern China at elevations up to 1300 meters in lower montane woods and in grasslands in moist depressions with black soil with ovoid or conical, green pseudobulbs enveloped basally by severa leaf bearing sheaths with elliptic-lanceolate, acuminate, plicate, thin-textured, petiolate leaves that blooms in the spring. The more than 4' [120 cm] long, erect, basal, racemose inflorescence, after blooming and the fall of the dead flowers, can be cut off and placed on sand in a long, plastic, plant flat and partially covered, put in a deep shaded, humid, well watered area and in 2 to 3 months, plantlets will begin to grow from the old floral bracts. After 6 months they can be transplanted into a pot. This species has become an invasive species in some countries such as Jamaica and Hawaii. In Papua the smoked flowers are eaten as a contraceptive.

Synonyms Bletia incarvillei R. Br. ?; Bletia tankervilleae R. Br. 1813; Calanthe bachmaensis Gagnep. 1950; Calanthe speciosa Viell. 1861; Dendrobium veratrifolium Roxb. 1832; Limodorum incarvilliae Pers. 1807; Limodorum spectabile Salisb. 1796; *Limodorum tankervilleae Banks 1788; Pachyne spectabilis Salisb. 1812; Phaius australis F. Muell. 1888; Phaius bernaysii F. Mueller ex Bernays 1873; Phaius bicolor Lindley 1831; Phaius blumei Lindley 1831; Phaius blumei Lindley var assamicus Rchb.f 1882; Phaius blumei Lindley var pulcher King & Pantl. 1898; Phaius carroni F. Muell. 1860 ; Phaius giganteus Hemsl. 1882; Phaius grandifolius Rchb.f 1828; Phaius grandifolius Lour 1790; Phaius grandifolius Lindl.1831; Phaius grandifolius var. superbus Van Houtte 1852; Phaius incarvillei O.Ktze. 1891; Phaius incarvillei O.Ktze. var speciosa; Phaius leucophaeus F. Muell. 1863; Phaius mannii Rchb.f 1878; Phaius oweniae Sander 1894; Phaius roeblingii O'Brien 1895; Phaius tankervilleae f. veronicae S.Y.Hu & Barretto 1976; Phaius tankervilleae var. pulchra (King & Pantl.) Karth. 1989; Phaius tankervilleae var. superbus (Van Houtte) S.Y.Hu 1974; Phaius tenuis Rchb. f. 1857; Phaius veratrifolius (Roxb.) Lindl. 1840; Tankervillia cantoniensis Link 1829

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Orchids of Burma Grant 1895/1995 as P wallichii; Orchidiana Philipiniana Vol 1 Valmayor 1984; A Checklist of the Orchids of Borneo Wood & Cribb 1994; The Orchids of Cuba Llamacho & Larramendi 2005 Orchidaceae Antillanae Nir 2000; Orchids of Java Comber 1990; Native Orchids of New Caledonia Societe' Neo-Caledonienne D' Orchidophile 1995; The Wild Orchids of China Tsi, Chen & Mori 1997; Orchids of Sumatra Comber 2001; Beautiful Orchids of Nepal Rajbhandari & Bhattarai 2001; Orchids of Bhutan Pearce & Cribb 2002; Flora Malesiana Orchids of the Philippines Vol I Agoo, Shuiteman and de Vogel 2003;

Phaius tankervilliae var. alba [Aiton]Blume

Photo By Jay Pfahl

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