Volume 12 > Part 1 > Year 2011 > Page 114 > Orchidaceae > Habenaria

22. Habenaria limprichtii Schltr.

Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 4: 50. 1919; Seidenf., Dansk Bot. Ark. 31(3): 82, fig. 46. 1977; Opera Bot. 114: 57. 1992: S.C.Chen & P.J.Cribb in Z.Y. Wu et al. (eds), Fl. China 25: 153. 2009; Kurzweil, Thai Forest Bull., Bot., special issue: 24. 2009.— H. pectinata var. limprichtii (Schltr.) Pradhan, Ind. Orchids 1: 72. 1976. Fig. 63; Plate VIII: 1.

Accepted Name : This is currently accepted.

Synonyms & Citations :

Description : Flowering shoots glabrous, (26–)32–70 cm tall. Foliage leaves (3–)5–7, cauline, scattered along the stem, narrowly oblong-lanceolate, acute or acuminate, mucronate, 6–14(–20) by 1.5–3.3 cm, with three pronounced veins, surface almost entirely glabrous. Sterile bracts absent. Inflorescence semi-dense to lax, (2–)4- to 10-flowered; rachis (3–)5–17 cm long; floral bracts lanceolate, acuminate, 22–45 by 6–12(–19) mm. Flowers 3.4–4.3(–5.5) cm in diameter, yellow-green or greenish-white. Sepals subacute to acuminate; dorsal sepal erect, elliptic, 19–28 by 8–15(–20) mm; lateral sepals spreading, elliptic-lanceolate, 19–27 by 6–7.5(–9) mm. Petals forming a hood with the dorsal sepal, ovate-lanceolate, acute, with a broadly rounded lobe on the anterior side, 20–26 by 8–11 mm. Labellum 22–35 by 15–20 mm, 3-lobed above a 9–12 mm long stalk; midlobe oblong or linear, 15–18(–25) by 1.3–2 mm; side lobes fringed with linear laciniae; spur cylindric, 16–21 mm long, apically clavate. Column 3–5 mm tall; thecae situated on the far corners of an elongate horseshoe-shaped connective, anther canals 2–4 mm long, slender, curved upwards; stigmas to 7 mm long, curved upwards. Ovary (including pedicel) 19–33 mm long, with papillose or hairy keels. Capsule not seen.

Thailand : NORTHERN: Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai, Nan, Phitsanulok.

Distribution : S China (type), C China, Vietnam.

Ecology : In open pine forests, seasonal evergreen forests and grasslands, mostly over granite; 1,100–2,000 m alt. Flowering: July–September.

Vernacular : Ua pak foi (อั้วปากฝอย)(Northern).

Notes: The identity of our Thai plants is somewhat uncertain as they differ in their petal shape from typical Habenaria limprichtii. It has been suggested that the Thai plants rather match the Chinese H. yuana Tang & F.T.Wang (P. Ormerod, pers. comm.). Much further research into the variability of H. limprichtii and a critical review of the entire H. arietina/H. pectinata species complex (to which both species belong) are clearly needed.