四川虾脊兰 si chuan xia ji lan

Calanthe wardii W. W. Smith.

Plants ca. 80 cm tall. Rhizome inconspicuous. Pseudobulbs conic, ca. 1 cm in diam., enclosed in leaf sheaths. Leaves usually 3, not well developed at anthesis, suberect, not deciduous; blade ensiform or narrowly oblong-oblanceolate, ca. 32 × 2.5-4.5 cm, apex acute; petiole-like base usually forming a pseudostem to ca. 7 cm long and ca. 1.5 cm in diam. Scape arising from leaf axil, erect, to 70 cm, stout, puberulent, with 1 or 2 tubular sheaths; rachis 9-20 cm, laxly 10-20-flowered; floral bracts persistent, reflexed, narrowly lanceolate, 10-30 mm, sparsely puberulent. Flowers pale yellow to yellowish green, turning black when dried; pedicel and ovary ca. 10 mm, puberulent. Dorsal sepal reflexed, ovate-lanceolate, 9-10 × 3.5-4 mm, abaxially slightly puberulent, apex obtuse; lateral sepals reflexed, ovate, oblique, 9-10 × 4.5-5 mm, abaxially slightly puberulent, apex obtuse. Petals narrowly elliptic or ovate-lanceolate, 8-9 × 2.5-3 mm, midvein conspicuous, apex obtuse; lip yellowish white, reniform, ca. 5 × 13 mm, base adnate to column wings, unlobed, entire or slightly erose at margin, apex emarginate and mucronate in sinus; disk with 3 crested, papillose lamellae; spur cylindric, 8-10 × ca. 1.3 mm, outside and inside puberulent, ± attenuate toward apex. Column white, ca. 3 mm, thick, dilated toward apex, puberulent, wings decurrent to base of lip; rostellum 2-lobed; lobes ca. 1 mm; anther small; pollinia unequal in size, 4 subovoid and others subclavate; viscidium suborbicular. Fl. May-Jun.

Forests, shrubby slopes; 1000-1800 m. N and SW Sichuan [Bhutan, NE India, N Myanmar].