綬草

Plants 30-40 cm tall. Rhizome, bearing fascicle roots and leaves. Leaves linear-oblong, 5-15 cm long, becoming much longer in tall grass clumps, 5-8 mm wide, fleshy, apex acute, base truncate in radicle ones and attenuate in cauline ones, with 3 main veins, veinlets reticulate. Peduncle 1-4, glabrous, 10-35 cm tall, with 2-3 sterile bracts; rachis 5-15 cm long, with few to many spirally arranged flowers; floral bracts lanceolate. Flowers white or pink; ovary pale green, curved at apex; sepals narrowly lanceolate, 4.5-5 mm long, dorsal one concave at base, lateral ones oblique and slightly gibbose at base; petals oblanceolate, 3.5-4 mm long; lip separated from column base, oblong when expanded, concave and short clawed at base, bearing 2 clavate calli at each side, erect and slightly inflexed at middle, ovate or rounded at apex, apex recurved, with crispate margins, disc hairy; column erect, clavate, 1.8-2.1 mm long; anther broadly ovoid, 0.7 mm long; pollinia ca. 1mm long; stigma orbicular, slightly convex; rostellum thin, triangular-lanceolate, lower margins toothed; viscidium narrowly oblong.

TAIPEI: Natl. Taiwan Univ., Leou 3785; Su 1570. ILAN: Tatung, Leou 3770; Nanshem, Huang 7680. HUALIEN: Chingshui, Su & Chen 9317. NANTOU: Yunhai, Kao 5812. PINGTUNG: Nanjenshan, Su 7848. TAITUNG: Lanyu Is., Huang et al. 9299.

Siberia, China, Japan, Indochina, India, Malay Peninsula and the Philippines southward to New Zealand and Tasmania. Taiwan, common in moist grasslands below 1,000 m, throughout.