Gastrochilus pechei (Rchb.f.) Kuntze 1891 SECTION Gastrochilus

Photo by © Q. Liu and Notes on the genus Gastrochilus (Orchidaceae) in Myanmar LIU, ZHOU, LI, TAN, ZYAW, XING, GAO 2020

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Common Name Peche's Gastrochilus

Flower Size .7" [1.8 cm]

Found in northern Myanmar in limestone forests on tree trunks or on rocks at elevations of 700 to 800 meters as a mini-miniature sized, warm growing epiphyte with an erect, stout stem carrying 4 to 5, nearly basal, distichous, oblong, slightly fleshy to leathery, obtuse to unequally bilobed leaves that blooms in the late summer and fall on 1 to 4, basal, peduncle straight, .6 to 1" [1.5 to 2.5 cm] long, stout, provided with 2 cupular bracts, sub-umbellate, 4 to 6 flowered inflorescence.

"Morphologically, it shows a close affinity to G. obliquus, G. somai and G. arunachalensis. However, it differs from G. obliquus by having the slightly irregularly erose margin on epichile, the apex of epichile acute, and the subglobose hypochile (significantly lacerate or erose on epichile margin, apex of epichile obtuse, and subglobose-cucullate and laterally compressed hypochile in G. obliquus) from G. somai it can be differentiated on being a larger plant (leaves 6 to 8" x 1.4 to 1.8" [15 to 20 × 3.5 to 4.5 cm]), yellow sepals and petals and white labellum, all densely covered with purplish spots (smaller plant (1.4 to 1.68" x .48 to .68" [3.5 to 4.2 × 1.2 to 1.7 cm]), yellow-green sepals and petals without purplish spots, and white labellum with yellow blotch on the center of epichile in G. somai) (Liu et al., 2010); from G. arunachalensis by having spathulate sepals and petals, sub triangular epichile with central cushion, and subglobose hypochile (oblanceolate sepals and petals, triangular epichile without central cushion and cupular hypochile in G. arunachalensis) (Rao 1992).

Synonyms *Saccolabium pechei Rchb.f. 1889

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Orchids of Bhutan Pearce & Cribb 2002; Notes on the genus Gastrochilus (Orchidaceae) in Myanmar LIU, ZHOU, LI, TAN, ZYAW, XING, GAO 2020 photo fide

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