Trudelia cristata (Lindl.) Senghas 1988 Photo by © Lourens Grobler

Another Plant Photo courtesy of Diane Booth

Black lipped flowers Photo courtesy of Patricia Harding

and

Common Name The Comb Trudelia

Flower Size 2" [2.5 to 5 cm]

This medium sized, monopodial epiphytic species from the montane forests of Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Bhutan and tibet China on moss covered trees at altitudes of 600 to 2300 meters and is a small sized, warm to cold grower that can take some full sun with a stout stem carrying coriaceous, recurved, truncately tridentate apically, conduplicate, linear leaves that are articulated basally to the imbricate sheathing leaf bases and blooms in the spring and summer on an axillary, descending, short, few [2 to 6] flowered inflorescence with short, broad bracts and that is shorter than the leaves. It has fragrant, waxy, long-lived flowers with horns on the apex of the lip which is the determining factor between this species and T cristata.

Synonyms Aerides cristatum (Lindl.) Wall. ex Hook. 1890; Luisia striata (Rchb.f.) Kraenzl 1893; *Vanda cristata Lindl. 1828; Vanda striata Rchb. f. 1868

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Xenia Orchidaceae vol 2 Rchb.f 1867 as Vanda striata drawing fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 47 No 7 1978 as Vanda cristata; AOS Bulletin Vol 52 No 5 1983 photo as Vanda cristata; AOS Bulletin Vol 54 No 3 1985 as Vanda cristata; AOS Bulletin Vol 69 No 6 2000 photo as Vanda cristata; Native Orchids of China in Colour Singchi, Zhanhuo and Yibo 1999 photo fide as Vanda cristata; AOS Bulletin Vol 70 No 12 2001 photo; Beautiful Orchids of Nepal Rajbhandari & Bhattarai 2001; AOS Bulletin Vol 72 No 8 2003 photo;

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