!Thunia alba (Lindl.) Rchb. f. 1852
Photo by David P. Banks Australia Copyright Control ©
Photos by © Eric Hunt
Photo by David P. Banks Australia Copyright Control ©
Nice Close Up of what was T marshalliana
Photo by © Francis J Quesada-Pallares
What was considered to be T venosa
Photo by Jean Claude George
to 
MID 
Common Name The White Thunia - In China Sun Lan - In Thailand Chang Nga Diao - Phothuki
Flower Size 3 1/2" [8.75 cm]
This is the type species for the genus occuring as a large sized, cool to warm growing, deciduous-leafed terrestrial or lithophyte found in the western Himalayas, China, Assam India, eastern Himalayas, Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim, Andaman Islands, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam on the ground on rocks and in tree forks at elevations of 1000 to 2300 meters with elongate, tufted, erect stems carrying 2 ranked, elliptic-lanceolate, sessile, tapering towards the apex, thinly fleshy, glaucous leaves that blooms in the mid summer in the northern hemispere on a terminal, to 12" [to 30 cm] long, loosely 5 to 10 flowered inflorescence with ovate-oblong floral bracts and hanging very fragrant orange scented flowers that often do not open fully.
This species is highly variable in its coloration and as such has been described as many different species over the years but has currently become one species with some varieties.
Synonyms Limodorum bracteatum Roxb. 1832; *Phaius albus Lindl. 1828; Phaius bensoniae Benth. 1881; Phaius marshalliae auct 1871; Phaius marshallianus N.E. Br. 1889; Phaius marshallianus var. purpurata (Rchb.f.) N.E.Br. 1889; Phaius marshallianus var. triloba (Rchb.f.) N.E.Br. 1889; Phaius niveus Hemsl. 1882; Phaius veitchianus Mottet 1896-1897; Phajus marshallianus (Rchb. f.) N.E. Br. 1889; Thunia alba subvar. triloba Rchb.f. ex B.Grant 1895; Thunia alba var. bracteata (Roxb.) N.Pearce & P.J.Cribb 2001; Thunia alba var. marschalliana (Rchb.f.) B.Grant 1895; Thunia bracteata (Roxb.) Schltr. 1919; Thunia majorensis Colman 1932; Thunia marshalliae B.S.Williams 1874; Thunia marshalliana Rchb.f. 1876; Thunia marshalliana f. ionophlebia (Rchb.f.) M.Wolff & O.Gruss 2007; Thunia marshalliana var. ionophlebia Rchb.f. 1885; Thunia marshalliana var. purpurata Rchb.f. 1888; Thunia marshalliana var. triloba Rchb.f. 1888; Thunia nivalis (Hemsl.) Rchb.f. 1888; Thunia venosa Rolfe 1905
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; The Orchids of Burma Grant 1895/95; The Orchids of Burma Grant 1895/95 as Thunia alba var marshalliana; The Orchids of Sikkim-Himalaya Part 1 King & Pantling 1898 as Phajus albus drawing fide; The Orchids of North-Western Himalaya Vol IX Part II Duthie 1906 as Phajus albus; Die Orchideen Schlechter 1915; Die Orchideen Schlechter 1915 as P marshalliana photo good; Atlas des Orchidees Cultivees Constantin 1920 drawing fide; The Orchids of Thailand Seidenfaden & Smitinand 1959; AOS Bulletin Vol 33 No 2 1964 drawing fide; The Orchids of Thailand Seidenfaden & Smitinand 1965 corrections as T marshalliana photo fide; The Orchids of Thailand Seidenfaden & Smitinand 1965 corrections; AOS Bulletin Vol 33 No 2 1964 drawing; Encyclopedia of Cultivated Orchids Hawkes 1965; Encyclopedia of Cultivated Orchids Hawkes 1965 as T marshaliana drawing ok; AOS Bulletin VOl 37 # 5 1968 as Thunia marshaliana photo fide; Indian Orchids, Guide to Identification and Culture vol 2 Pradhan 1979; Indian Orchids, Guide to Identification and Culture vol 2 Pradhan 1979 as T marshaliana photo fide; Die Orchideen Band 3 Sonderabdruck aus Schlechter Brieger, Maatsch and Senghas Liferung #14 820 - 880 1984; Die Orchideen Band 3 Sonderabdruck aus Schlechter Brieger, Maatsch and Senghas Liferung #14 820 - 880 1984 as T marshalliana drawing/photo ok; Die Orchideen 3 Auflage Bd 1 Sonderabdruck aus Schlechter Lieferung 15 881 - 944 Brieger, Maatsch and Senghas 1984 as Phaius albus; Die Orchideen 3 Auflage Bd 1 Sonderabdruck aus Schlechter Lieferung 15 881 - 944 Brieger, Maatsch and Senghas 1984 as Phaius marchaliana; AOS Bulletin Vol 54 No 3 1985; Orchids of Kumaun Himalayas Pangtey, Samant and Rawat 1991; AOS Bulletin Vol 61 No 5/436 1992 as T marshaliana photo fide; The Manual Of Cultivated Orchid Species Bechtel, Cribb & Launert 1992 drawing fide; The Manual Of Cultivated Orchid Species Bechtel, Cribb & Launert 1992 as T marshalliana drawing/photo fide; The Orchids of Penninsular Malaysia and Singapore Wood & Seidenfaden 1992 drawing/photo fide; Thai Orchid Species Rakpaibulsombat 1992 photo fide; Identification of the Orchids [Orchidaceae Juss.] Vietnam Averyanov 1994; The Wild Orchids of China Tsi, Chen & Mori 1997; Native Orchids of China in Colour Singchi, Zhanhuo and Yibo 1999 photo fide; Beautiful Orchids of Nepal Rajbhandari & Bhattarai 2001; A field Guide to the Wild Orchids of Thailand Vaddhanaphuti 2001 photo good; A field Guide to the Wild Orchids of Thailand Vaddhanaphuti 2001 as T bracteata photo ok; Orchids of Bhutan Pearce & Cribb 2002 drawing/photo fide; Wild Orchids in Myanamar Vol 1 Tanaka 2003; 100 Sikkim Himalayan Orchids Pradhan 2005 photo fide; A field Guide to the Wild Orchids of Thailand Vaddhanaphuti 2005 photo ok; A field Guide to the Wild Orchids of Thailand Vaddhanaphuti 2005 as T bracteata photo good; Orchid Digest Vol 71 No 1 2007 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 76 #7 2007 as T marshalliana photo fide; T Orchids of India A Glimpse Misra 2007 drawing ok; The Orchids of India A Glimpse Misra 2007 as T bracteata photo ok; AOS Bulletin vol 78 No 8 2009 photo fide; A Field Guide to the Orchids of China Singchi, Zhongjian, Yibo, Xiaohua and Zhanhuo 2009 photo fide; Flora of China Vol 25 Zhengyi, Raven & Deyuan 2009; AOS Bulletin Vol 79 #5 2010 photo fide; Flora of China Vol 25 Illustrations Zhengyi, Raven & Deyuan 2010 drawing fide; The Wild Orchids in Yunnan Xu Xiang Ye & Liu 2010 photos ok; A to Z of South East Asian Orchid Species Vol 2 O'Byrne 2011 photo fide; Orchid Digest Vol 77 #3 2013 photo fide; Orchids of Odisha Misra 2014 drawing/photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 84 #11 2015 photo fide; LANKESTERIANA 15(1): 7—50. Jeewan Singh Jalal & J. Jayanthi 2015; Orchid Digest Vol 80 #2 2016; AOS Bulletin Vol 88 #7 2019 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 88 #7 2019 as T alba var bracteata photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 88 #7 2019 as T alba var alba or T marshalliana photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 88 #10 2019 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 88 #11 2019 photo fide; Lankesteriana Vol 18 [1]: 23–62 Jalal & Jayanth 2018; Orchids of Maharashtra Jalal 2018 as T alba var bractescens photo fide; Atlas of Native Orchids of China Vol 1 Jin Xiaohua, Li Jianwu and Ye Deping 2019 photo fide;
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
