翅萼石斛 chi e shi hu

Callista carinifera (H. G. Reichenbach) Kuntze.

Stems golden yellow when dry, cylindric or sometimes enlarged and fusiform, 10-28 cm, ca. 15 mm in diam. at middle, fleshy and thick, unbranched, with more than 6 nodes, internodes 1.5-2 cm. Leaves several, distichous, oblong or ligulate-oblong, to 11 × 1.5-4 cm, leathery, abaxial surface and leaf sheaths densely black hirsute, base decurrent forming clasping sheaths, apex obtuse and slightly unequally bilobed. Inflorescences subterminal, 1- or 2-flowered; peduncle 5-10 mm, basal sheaths 3 or 4; floral bracts ovate, 4-5 mm, acute. Pedicel and ovary ca. 3 cm; ovary tricarinate. Flowers orange-scented, spreading, thickly textured; ovary yellowish green, sepals pale yellowish white, mentum pale yellow tinged orange-red, petals white, lateral lobes of lip orange-red, mid-lobe yellow, disk reddish orange, column white tinged reddish orange, anther cap white. Sepals dorsally carinate; dorsal sepal ovate-lanceolate, ca. 25 × 9 mm, apex acute; lateral sepals obliquely ovate-triangular, nearly as large as dorsal sepal; mentum angulate, decurved near apex or sigmoid, ca. 20 mm, forming spur. Petals oblong-elliptic, ca. 20 × 10 mm, 5-veined, acute; lip trumpet-shaped, 3-lobed; lateral lobes subobovate, embracing column, front margin denticulate; mid-lobe nearly transversely oblong, front margin irregularly notched, apex concave; disk shortly fimbriate along veins. Column ca. 7 mm; anther cap subspherical, front margin densely papillate-hairy. Capsule ovoid, to 3 cm in diam.

Epiphytic on tree trunks in mountain forests; 1100-1700 m. S Yunnan [NE India, Laos, Myanmar, N Thailand, Vietnam].