Cheirostylis liukiuensis Masam.1930

Plant and Flowers

Photos by Takato NATSU from Japan and his Japan Orchids Page

FragrancePart shadeColdSpring

Common Name The Liukiu Cheirostylis [an island in the Ryukyus to the south of Japan] -in Japan - Ryukyu kairo-ran or Akaba kairo-ran =- In China Liu Qiu Cha Zhu Lan

Flower Size 3/4" [.8 cm]

Found in the Ryukyu islands, the Hong Kong area and Taiwan as a samll sized, cold growing terrestrial with a decumbent, fleshy rhizome giving rise to an erect, leafy stem carrying ovate to broadly ovate, acute, basally truncate to subcordate, contracted into a conduplicate petiolate base leaves that blooms in the winter and spring on an erect, rather slender, hirsute, distantly several sheathed, 4 to 5" [10 to 15 cm] long, subdensely several flowered inflorescence with ovate-lanceolate, cucullate, acuminate, as long as the pedicellate ovary floral bracts.

Synonyms Cheirostylis kanashiroi Ohwi 1938

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Orchids of Southern Ryukyu Islands Garay & Sweet 1974 drawing fide; Flora of China Vol 25 Zhengyi, Raven & Deyuan 2009; Flora of China Vol 25 Illustrations Zhengyi, Raven & Deyuan 2010 drawing fide; The Wild Orchids of Hong Kong Barretto, Cribb and Gale 2011 drawing/photo ok;

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