Nervilia gracilis Aver. 2011

Photos by © Leonid Averyanov and The Species new to Science Website

LATE EARLY

Common Name or Meaning The Graceful Nervilia

Flower Size .5" [1.25 cm]

Found in south Vietnam in primary, broad leaved, mixed and coniferous forests in shade on limestone at elevations of 900 to 1400 meters as a mini-miniature sized, warm to cool growing terrestrial with a single small, membraneous white subglobose tuber giving rise to a light green, very thin, membraneous, cordate, obscurely 5 to 7 angled, 5 to 7 main veined, glabrous, deeply cordate basally obtuse, petiolate base leaf that blooms in the late winter and early spring on an erect, slender, 2 to 4.8" [5 to 12 cm] long, with 1 to 2 tubular, scarious, light yellowish brown, acute bracts, elongating in fruit to 8" [20 cm] long, rachis filiform, white to light brownish occasionally with purple flecks, single, rarely 2 flowered inflorescence with very small, accute, ovate-triangular to lanceolate shortre thant he ovary floral bracts and carrying a resupinate flower held at right angles tothe scape

Similar to N calicola but this one differs in the keeled disc of the lip and the very small membraneous leaves

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Turczaninowia 2011, 14(2) : 15–100 Averyanov 2011 drawing/photo fide

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