Habenaria suaveolens Dalzell 1850 SECTION Macroceratitis Kraenzl

Photo by © Rahul Prabhu Khanolkar and the Flowers of India Website

Partial SunWarmCoolLATE EARLY

Common Name The Mildly Fragrant Habenaria - In India - Panchgani Habe-amri

Flower Size .9" [2.2 cm]

Found in southwestern India on exposed lateritic rocky plateaus at elevations of 700 to 1200 meters as a miniature to small sized, warm to cool growing terrestrial with 1 to 2 oblong tubers giving rise to 3 to 5, elliptic-oblong, basally clustered, papillose, acute leaves that blooms in the late winter and early spring on an erect, rigid, ribbed, .8 to 6" [2 to 15 cm] long, 2 to many flowered inflorescence with oblong, acuminate, decreasing in size above floral bracts and carrying fragrant flowers.

Scented of Jasmine, the form of the lip and the color are the same as those of Habenaria longicorniculata which is also a sweet smelling species, but it is a mediuim to large sized orchid with 3 to 10 leaves that blooms in the summer and fall on a to 34" [85 cm] long long, 1 to 4 [usually 2] flowered inflorescence.

Synonyms Habenaria panchganiensis Santapau & Kapadia 1957; Habenaria variabilis Blatt. & McCann 1932; Pecteilis suaveolens M.A.Clem. & D.L.Jones 2018; Plantaginorchis suaveolens (Dalzell) Szlach. & Kras-Lap. 2006

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;

* Hooker's J. Bot. Kew Gard. Misc. 2: 263 Dalzell 1850

J Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 36: 19 Blatt. & McCann 1932 as H variabilis nom. illeg.

J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 54: 478 Santapau & Kapadia 1957 as H panchganiensis

Orchids of Bombay Santapau & Kapadia 1966;

Orchids of Bombay Santapau & Kapadia 1966 as Habenaria panchganiensis Drawing fide;

Indian Orchids A Field Guide to Identification and Culture Vol 1 Pradhan 1976 drawing hmm;

Indian Orchids A Field Guide to Identification and Culture Vol 1 Pradhan 1976 as H panchganiensis;

Blumea 27: 213 Misra 1981

Richardiana 6: 32 Szlach. & Kras-Lap. 2006 as Plantaginorchis suaveolens

Orchids of India A Glimpse Misra 2007;

Lankesteriana Vol 18 [1]: 23–62 Jalal & Jayanth 2018 photo fide;

Orchids of Maharashtra Jalal 2018 photo fide;

Austral. Orchid Rev. 83(6): 53 M.A.Clem. & D.L.Jones 2018 as Pecteilis suaveolens

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