Habenaria aitchisonii Rchb.f. 1886 SECTION Diphyllae Kraenzl.
Photo by © Naresh Swami
Plant and Flowers in situ China
Photo by Sun Hang © and Courtesy of the Flora of Pakistan Website
Photo by © Renz and the Swiss Orchid Foundation at the Herbarium Jany Renz Website
EARLY
Common Name Aitchison's Habenaria [English Physiscian and Botanist in India 1800's] - In China Luo Di Jin Qian
Flower Size .2 to .28" [5 to 7 mm]
Found in Afghanistan, Pakistan, western Himalayas, Chinese Himalayas, eastern Himalayas and Nepal in open forests on sandstone at elevations of 3000 to 3950 meters as a miniature to medium sized, cold growing terrestrial with cylindric tubers giving rise to 2, basal, adpressed to the ground, subopposite, orbicular to broadly ovate, acute, sessile, thick, softly glandular-pubescent leaves with adpressed, lanceolate, acute stem bracts above that blooms in the summer and early fall on an erect, subsecund, subdensely many flowered, 1.4 to 8" [3.5 to 20 cm] long, inflorescence with lanceolate, acute floral bracts and carrying erect, adpressed to the rachis, fragrant flowers.
Synonyms Habenaria bihamata Kraenzl. 1921; Habenaria diceras Schltr.1912; Habenaria diceras var. pubicaulis (Schltr.) Soó 1929; Habenaria pubicaulis Schltr.1924
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; The Orchids of Sikkim-Himalaya Part 1 King & Pantling 1898 drawing fide plant ok; The Orchids of North-Western Himalaya Vol IX Part II Duthie 1906 drawing ok; Encyclopedia of Cultivated Orchids Hawkes 1965; Indian Orchids A Field Guide to Identification and Culture Vol 1 Pradhan 1976 drawing ok; Orchids of North West Himalaya Deva & Naithani 1986 drawing fide; Orchids of Kumaun Himalayas Pangtey, Samant and Rawat 1991; Beautiful Orchids of Nepal Rajbhandari & Bhattarai 2001 photo fide; Orchids of Bhutan Pearce & Cribb 2002; Orchids of India A Glimpse Misra 2007; 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; Flora of China Vol 25 Illustrations Zhengyi, Raven & Deyuan 2010 drawing fide; The Wild Orchids in Yunnan Xu Xiang Ye & Liu 2010 photos ok; LANKESTERIANA 15(1): 7—50. Jeewan Singh Jalal & J. Jayanthi 2015; Terrestrial Orchids Swami 2016 photo fide; Atlas of Native Orchids of China Vol 1 Jin Xiaohua, Li Jianwu and Ye Deping 2019 photo fide;
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