花蜘蛛兰 hua zhi zhu lan

Arachnanthe clarkei (H. G. Reichenbach) Rolfe; Arachnis clarkei (H. G. Reichenbach) J. J. Smith; Vanda clarkei (H. G. Reichenbach) N. E. Brown.

Stems rigid, to 1 m tall, stout, 7-10 mm in diam., internodes 2-3 cm, branched, covered by leaf sheaths. Leaves distichous; leaf blade narrowly oblong, 13-25 × 1.7-3 cm, leathery, obtuse and slightly unequally bilobed. Inflorescence to 32 cm, unbranched, 3- or 4-flowered; peduncle 3-5 cm, stout, with 2 or 3 sheaths; rachis 12-15 cm, weakly zigzag; floral bracts broadly ovate, 1-1.7 cm. Flowers slightly fragrant, opening widely, pale yellow with reddish brown transverse stripes, 5.5-7.5 cm in diam., thickly textured; pedicel and ovary ca. 3 cm. Dorsal sepal oblanceolate-elliptic, ca. 3.5 × 1-1.2 cm, obtuse; lateral sepals obovate-elliptic, falcate, 3-3.2 × 0.9-1.2 cm. Petals subspatulate, falcate, 2.8-3.1 × 0.9-1.1 cm, obtuse; lip pendulous, ca. 1.7 cm, 3-lobed; claw ca. 2 mm; hypochile 6-8 × 5-6 mm, with 2 auriculate lateral lobes; mesochile 4-5 × 1-1.5 mm, narrow; epichile reniform, 8-9 × 5-6 mm, margin crenulate; disk with 7-9 radiating keels and 2 raised calli in center of lip. Column clavate, 1.2-1.4 cm, stout; stipe horseshoe-shaped, ca. 4 × 2 mm. Capsule ellipsoid-cylindric, 3.5-5.5 × 1.5-2 cm. Fl. Oct, fr. Nov-Dec.

Lithophytic on rocks along valleys, epiphytic on tree trunks in open forests; 500-2100 m. Hainan, SW Yunnan [Bhutan, NE India, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, NW Vietnam].