大花头蕊兰 da hua tou rui lan

Serapias damasonium Miller, Gard. Dict., ed. 8, Serapias no. 2. 1768; Cephalanthera yunnanensis Handel-Mazzetti.

Plants leafy, autotrophic, 14-36 cm tall. Stem slender, smooth or sometimes scabrous toward apex, with 2-5 basal sheaths, 4- or 5(-7)-leaved. Leaves elliptic to oblong, becoming smaller and linear-lanceolate above, 3-6 × (0.5-)1.2-2 cm, apex acute to acuminate. Inflorescence laxly (1 or)2- or 3(-5)-flowered; rachis 1-2.5 cm; floral bracts foliaceous, lanceolate to elliptic, 30-50 × 5-12 mm, all exceeding ovary. Flowers suberect, rarely opening fully, white, 1.5-2.5 cm; pedicel and ovary 10-12 mm. Sepals narrowly obovate-elliptic, 1.6-1.8 cm × 5.5-6.5 mm, 7-veined, apex obtuse to acute. Petals subobovate, 13-14 × ca. 6 mm, apex acute to acuminate; lip 8-9 mm, 2-partite; hypochile gibbous-saccate, enclosed within bases of lateral sepals, with an orange-yellow patch near base of disk; hypochile lobes erect and loosely embracing column, ovate-triangular, 2-2.5 mm; epichile transversely elliptic, ca. 4 × 8 mm, densely papillose toward apex, with 3 longitudinal, orange lamellae in basal half, obtuse-truncate. Column 9-11 mm, with 2 narrow, oblong wings; anther ovoid, ca. 2.5 mm. Fl. Jun. 2n = 36, 54.

Open forests; 2100-2900 m. N and NW Yunnan (Lijiang, Luquan) [Bhutan, India, Myanmar; SW Asia, Europe].

The extensive extra-Chinese synonymy is not cited here.