Herminium mannii (Rchb.f.) Tang & F.T.Wang 1936

Photo by Li Jianwu

Drawing Drawing © by Seidenfaden and The Swiss Orchid Foundation at the Jany Renz Herbaria Website

LATER EARLY

Common Name Mann's Herminium[German forest engineer in India 1800's]

Flower Size .12 to .24" [3 to 6 mm]

Found in the Chinese Himalayas, Assam, the eastern Himalyas, Nepal and Thailand in open forests and savannahs at elevations around 1500 to 1600 meters as a small sized, cool growing terrestrial with oblong tubers giving rise to an erect stem carrying 2 to 3, basal, linear, tapering towards the apex, acute leaves with 1 to 2, suberect, to spreading, lanceolate sterile bracts that blooms in the later summer and early fall on an erect, terminal, 8" [20 cm] long overall, rachis 2.8 to 4" [7 to 10 cm] long, laxly 10 to several flowered inflorescence with lanceolate to ovate-acuminate, shorter than the ovary floral bracts and carrying pale yellow to green flowers.

Flowers in Thailand are twice as large as flowers found on Indian plants.

Synonyms *Coeloglossum mannii Rchb.f. 1876; Habenaria duclouxii Rolfe 1913; Habenaria gracillima Hook.f. 1890; Habenaria spiranthiformis Ames & Schltr. 1919; Herminium spiranthiforme (Ames & Schltr.) Tang & F.T.Wang 1951; Herminium yuanum Tang & F.T.Wang 1936; Peristylus gracillimus (Hook.f.) Kraenzl. 1898; Peristylus mannii (Rchb.f.) Mukerjee 1953; Platanthera mannii (Rchb.f.) Schltr. 1919

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Orchideologiae Sino-Japonicae Prodomus Schlecheter 1919 as H spiranthiformis; Indian Orchids: Guide to Identification and Culture Pradhan 1976 as P gracillima; Flora of China Vol 25 Orchidaceae Zhengyi, Raven and Duyuan 2009; Flora of China Illustrations Vol 25 Orchidaceae Zhengyi, Raven and Duyuan 2010 drawing fide; Flora of Thailand Vol 12 Part 1 Pedersen, Kurzweil, Suddee and Cribb 2011 drawing fide; Atlas of Native Orchids of China Vol 1 Jin Xiaohua, Li Jianwu and Ye Deping 2019 photo fide;

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