Spiranthes sinensis (Pers.) Ames 1908
Photos by © Eric Hunt
Plant and flowers in situ Victoria Australia
Photo by Colin Rowan
Photos by Natsui
Drawing by Leou Ching-Sheng and Flora of China Vol 25 Illustrations Zhengyi, Raven & Deyuan 2010
to 
Common Name The Chinese Spiranthes - In Australia - The Christmas Lily - In China Shou Cao - In Thailand Phak phai nam
Flower Size 3/16" [4mm]
Found from Eastern Russia, western Siberia, eastern Siberia, Mongolia, Japan, Ryukyu Islands, Korea, China, Taiwan, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, western Himalayas, Pakistan, Assam, India, Sri Lanka, eastrern Himalayas, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanamar, Thailand, Vietnam, Borneo, Java, Lesser Sunda Islands, Malaysia, Sumatra, Moluccas, Sulawesi, New Guinea, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, Niue, Vanuatu, Tonga and Samoa as a medium sized, cool to hot growing terrestrial species on roadsides, grassy areas, open forests and upland bogs at elevations of 100 to 2000 meters with cylindrical, pubescent roots carrying a basal rosette of a few oblong-elliptic to linear lanceolate, acute, glossy dark green leaves that blooms on an erect, slender, to 10" [25 cm] long, terminal, many flowered, spicate inflorescence that the spreading flowers twist around in a spiral with 2 to 3 distant, glandular-hairy sheaths and lanceolate, acuminate, glandular-hairy floral bracts occuring in the spring, summer and fall and carries fragrant flowers.
This species and Spiranthes spiralis are considered by some to be synomonous, check both for the total synonymry.
Synonyms Aristotelea spiralis Lour. 1790; Epidendrum aristotelea Raeusch. 1797; Gyrostachys australis var. sinensis (Pers.) Blume 1859; Ibidium spirale (Lour.) Makino 1929; Neottia australis var. chinensis Ker Gawl. 1821; Neottia autumnalis (Balb.) Steud 1821; Neottia pudica (Lindl.) Sweet 1827; *Neottia sinensis Pers.1807; Spiranthes aristotelea (Raeusch.) Merr. 1919; Spiranthes australis var. pudica (Lindl.) F.Muell. 1876; Spiranthes australis var. sinensis (Pers.) Gagnep. 1933; Spiranthes australis var. suishaensis Hayata 1916; Spiranthes autumnalis (Balb.) Rich. 1817; Spiranthes indica Lindl. ex Steud. 1841; Spiranthes lancea sensu auctt. Holttum 1957; Spiranthes lancea var. chinensis (Lindl.) Hatus. 1968; Spiranthes lancea sensu auctt Seidenfaden & Smitinand 1959; Spiranthes neocaledonica Schltr. 1906; Spiranthes papuana Schltr. 1911; Spiranthes pitouchaoensis S.S.Ying 2022; Spiranthes pudica Lindl. 1821; Spiranthes sinensis f. autumnus Tsukaya 2005; Spiranthes sinensis f. gracilis F.Maek. ex Tsukaya 2005; Spiranthes spiralis (Lour.) Makino 1926; Spiranthes spiralis var. albescens Honda 1935; Spiranthes suishanensis (Hayata) Schltr. 1919;
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
Fl. Cochinch. 2: 522 Lour. 1790 as Aristotelea spiralis
Nomencl. Bot. Pl. Illustr., ed. 3: 265 Raeusch. 1797 as Epidendrum aristotelea nom. superfl.
Syn. Pl. 2: 511 Pers. 1807 as Neottia sinensis
Coll. Bot.: t. 30 Lindley 1821 as Spiranthes pudica
Bot. Reg. 7: t. 602 Lindley 1822 as Neottia australis var. chinensis drawing fide;
*Fl. Gén. Env. Paris 2: 330 Chevll. 1827
Hort. Brit.: 485 Sweet 1827 as Neottia pudica
Nomencl. Bot., ed. 2, 2: 625 Lindley ex Steud. 1841 as Spiranthes indica not validly publ.
Bonplandia: 250 Rchb.f 1855 as S australis var pudica;
Fl. Javae Nov. Ser.: 108 Blume 1859 as Gyrostachys australis var. sinensis
Fragm. 10: 65 F Muell. 1876 as Spiranthes australis var. pudica
Die Orchideen Von Java J.J.Smith 1905 as Spiranthes australis drawing fide;
Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 39: 51 Schlechter 1906 as Spiranthes neocaledonica
The Orchids of North-Western Himalaya Vol IX Part II: 164 Duthie 1906 as S autumnalis;
* Studies in the Family Orchidaceae Fascile 2: 53 Ames 1908;
The Orchidaceae of German New Guinea 1: 111 Schlechter 1911 as S papuana
The Orchidaceae of German New Guinea 1: 112 Schlechter 1911 as S papuana drawing fide;
Icon. Pl. Formosan. 6: 86 Hayata 1916 as Spiranthes australis var. suishaensis
Philipp. J. Sci. 15: 230 Merr. 1919 as Spiranthes aristotelea nom. superfl.
Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 4: 161 Schlechter 1919 as Spiranthes suishanensis
Beih. Bot. Centralbl. 37(2): 350 Schlechter 1920 as S autumnalis
J. Jap. Bot. 3: 25 Makino 1926 as Spiranthes spiralis nom. illeg. as
J. Jap. Bot. 6: 37 Makino 1929 as Ibidium spirale
Fl. Indo-Chine 6: 546 Gagnep 1933 as Spiranthes australis var. sinensis nom. superfl.
Bot. Mag. (Tokyo) 49: 791 Honda 1935 as Spiranthes spiralis var. albescens
Flora of Malaya Vol 1 Holttum 1957 as S lancea in error;
The Orchids of Thailand Seidenfadden & Smitnand 1959 as S lancea in error drawing;
Encyclopedia of Cultivated Orchids Hawkes 1965;
AOS Bulletin Vol 35 No 4 1966;
J. Geobot. 16: 80 Hatus. 1968 as Spiranthes lancea var. chinensis
Orchids of Australia Nicholls 1969 drawing fide;
Die Orchideen #6 21-24 tafel 7 Rudolph Schlechter 1971 drawing;
Orchids of Southern Ryukyu Islands Garay & Sweet 1974;
: Flore de la Nouvelle-Caledonie et Dependences Vol 8 Orchidaceae Halle 1977 drawing fide;
Dansk Botanisk Arkiv Bind 32 nr 2 Orchids of Thailand VI Neottiideae Seidenfaden 1978 drawing fide;
The Orchids of the High Mountains of New Guinea P. Van Royen 1979 photo good;
The Complete Writings on Philippine Orchids Vol 1 Quisumbing 1981;
A Revised Handbook to the Flora of Ceylon Vol 2 Dassanayake & Fosberg 1981 drawing fide;
Orchidiana Philipiniana Vol 1 Valmayor 1984;
Orchids of Nilgiris Joseph 1987 as S sinensis var wightiana drawing fide;
Orchids of Vanuatu Lewis & Cribb 1989;
The Orchids of the Solomon Islands and Bougainville Lewis & Cribb 1991;
Orchids of Kumaun Himalayas Pangtey, Samant and Rawat 1991;
The Orchids of Penninsular Mayasia and Singapore Seidenfaden & Wood 1992 drawing fide;
The Manual Of Cultivated Orchid Species Bechtel, Cribb & Launert 1992;
Orchids of Malaya Segerback 1992 photos fide;
The Plants of Mount Kinabalu Vol 2 Orchids Beaman, Wood, Beaman & Beaman 1993;
Identification of the Orchids [Orchidaceae Juss.] Vietnam Averyanov 1994;
A Checklist of the Orchids of Borneo Wood & Cribb 1994;
The Orchids of Samoa Cribb & Whistler 1996 photo fide;
Native Orchids of New Caledonia Societe' Neo-Caledonienne D' Orchidophile 1995 photo fide;
The Wild Orchids of China Tsi, Chen & Mori 1997;
Native Orchids of China in Colour Singchi, Zhanhuo and Yibo 1999 photo fide;
Rudolf Schlechter Die Orchideen Band 1C lieferung 40 pg 2492 - 2564 Brieger 2000;
Orchids of Sumatra Comber 2001;
Orchids of Sarawak Beaman, Wood & Beaman etal 2001;
Lindleyana Vol 17 No 1: 55 2002;
Orchids of Bhutan Pearce & Cribb 2002 drawing/photo fide;
AOS Bulletin Vol 72 No 3 2003 photo fide;
Flora Malesiana Orchids of the Philippines Vol I Agoo, Shuiteman and de Vogel 2003;
Orchids of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East Delforge 2005;
J. Pl. Res. 118: 17 Tsukaya 2005 as Spiranthes sinensis f. autumnus
J. Pl. Res. 118: 18 F.Maek. ex Tsukaya 2005 as Spiranthes sinensis f. gracilis without indication of the type.
Native Orchids of Australia Joes 2006 photo fide;
Orchids of India A Glimpse Misra 2007 drawing fide;
Native Orchids of Shaanxi - Shaanxi Science & Technology Press 2007 photo fide;
Orchids of Huanglong Perner, Tang Si-Yuan 2007 photos fide;
Flora Malesia Orchids of New Guinea Vol V 2008;
Orchids of Vietnam, Illustrated survey, part 1 Averyanov 2008;
Wild Orchids of the Cameron Highlands REACH 2009 photo fide;
Native Orchids From Gaoligongshan Mountains, China Xiaohua, Xiaodong and Xiaochun 2009 photo fide;
A Field Guide to the Orchids of China Singchi, Zhongjian, Yibo, Xiaohua and Zhanhuo 2009 photo fide;
Flora of China Vol 25 Zhengyi, Raven & Deyuan 2009;
Flora of China Vol 25 Illustrations Zhengyi, Raven & Deyuan 2010 drawing fide;
Flora of China Vol 25 Illustrations Zhengyi, Raven & Deyuan 2010 drawing fide;
The Atlas of Wild Orchids in Hainan Island, China Shenyan and Junmei 2010 photo fide;
The Wild Orchids in Yunnan Xu Xiang Ye & Liu 2010 photos fide;
The Native Orchids of New Zealand, A Colour Field Guide Scanlen & St George 2010 as Spiranthes novaezelandica photo fide;
A review on Spiranthoideae genera in Arunachal Pradesh Bulletin of Arunachal Forest Research 27 (1&2) : 1-33, Rao 2011 drawing fide;
The Orchids of Mount Kinabalu Vol 2 Wood, Beaman, Lamb, Chu Lun and Beaman 2011 drawing/photo fide;
Wild Orchids of Penninsular Malaysia Ong, O'Byrne, Yong & Saw 2011 photo fide;
Flora Of Thailand Orchidaceae Vol 12 Part 1 Pedersen, Kurzweil, Suddee & Cribb 2011 drawing/photo fide;
The Wild Orchids of Hong Kong Barretto, Cribb and Gale 2011 drawing/photo fide;
A to Z of South East Asian Orchid Species Vol 2 O'Byrne 2011 photo fide;
Orchids of Odisha Misra 2014 drawing fide;
AOS Bulletin Vol 84 #3: 22 and 24 2015 drawing fide;
LANKESTERIANA 15(1): 41. Jeewan Singh Jalal & J. Jayanthi 2015;
Lankesteriana Vol 18 [1]: 55 Jalal & Jayanth 2018;
Atlas of Native Orchids of China Vol 1 Jin Xiaohua, Li Jianwu and Ye Deping 2019 photo fide
New Taxa and New Names 3: 19 S S Ying 2022 as Spiranthes pitouchaoensis photos fide
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