绿花大苞兰 lü hua da bao lan

Ione annamensis Ridley, J. Nat. Hist. Soc. Siam 4: 115. 1921.

Rhizome creeping, ca. 2 mm in diam. Pseudobulbs ca. 1.5 cm apart on rhizome, ovoid, 1.7-2.5 cm, ca. 13 mm in diam., with 1 leaf at apex. Petiole ca. 15 mm; leaf blade erect, oblong, 8.5-11 × 2-2.5 cm, thickly leathery, base contracted into petiole, apex obtuse and retuse. Scape erect, 15-35 cm; raceme erect, 4-6-flowered; peduncle 12-30 cm, 1.5-2 mm in diam., with 6 sheaths 1.5-2 cm; floral bracts ovate to triangular, 10-12 mm, membranous, apex acuminate. Pedicel and ovary 10-13 mm. Dorsal sepal ovate, ca. 10 × 6-7 mm, 7-veined, apex rounded to obtuse; lateral sepals ovate, 11-14 × ca. 5 mm, lower edges free or ± connate (see note below) to each other in basal half, apex acute. Petals ovate-triangular, 5.5-6 × 5.5-6 mm, 3-veined, margins erose-denticulate, apex obtuse; lip ± cordate to rhombiform, 7-9 × 7-10 mm, slightly narrowed and thickened in apical half, apex obtuse. Column ca. 2 mm, stout, base with a foot ca. 1 mm; each pair of pollinia with a stipe and a viscidium. Fl. Oct.

Tree trunks in forests; ca. 2400 m. S Yunnan (Lüchun) [Thailand, Vietnam].

X. H. Jin et al. (Acta Bot. Yunnan. 29: 394. 2007) reported Sunipia annamensis from the locality given above. Their description may well refer to this species, although they described the lateral sepals as connate. We have not seen the specimen (X. H. Jin 8545, PE). The Chinese record needs confirmation.