Eria alba Lindl. 1830 SECTION Pinalia TYPE for the section
Photo by © Jeewan Singh Jalal & J. Jayanthi and AN ANNOTATED CHECKLIST OF THE ORCHIDS OF WESTERN HIMALAYA, INDIA LANKESTERIANA 15(1): 7—50. 2015
Photo by © P. J. Cribb and The Swiss Orchid Foundation at the Jany Renz Herbaria
Drawing by Duthie
LATE
EARLY 
Common Name The White Eria
Flower Size 1/4 to .4" [.8 to 1 cm]
Found in the western Himalayas, eastern Himalayas and Nepal at elevations around 1400 to 2000 meters as a mini-miniature to small sized, cool growing epiphytic orchid with ovoid to flask shaped, clustered, tapering at each end pseudobulbs carrying 2 to 6, linear-lanceolate, acuminate, narrowing below into the petiolate base leaves that blooms in the late spring and early summer on a terminal, erect, pubescent, racemose, 2 to 3" [5 to 7.5 cm] long, laxly 5 to 8 flowered inflorescence with short, ovate, acute floral bracts and carrying sweetly scented flowers
CAUTION There are two flowers forms here for this species, the first photo seems to be a good match for Duthie's drawing and the second photo is an exact match for P J Cribbs Orchids of Bhutan reference. So please use caution as there is a wide descrepancy in what is proposed as this species.
Synonyms Octomeria alba (Lindl.) Wall. ex Hook.f. 1890; Pinalia leucantha Kuntze 1891
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; The Orchids of North-Western Himalaya Vol IX Part II Duthie 1906 drawing fide to the first photo; Orchids of Kumaun Himalayas Pangtey, Samant and Rawat 1991; Orchids of Bhutan Pearce & Cribb 2002 photo fide to the second photo; Genera Orchidacearum Vol 4 part 1 Pridgeon, Cribb, Chase and Rasmussen 2005 as Pinalia alba; LANKESTERIANA 15(1): 7—50. Jeewan Singh Jalal & J. Jayanthi 2015 as Pinalia leucantha photo fide
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