Cymbidium nanulum

Cymbidium nanulum Y.S.Wu & S.C.Chen, Acta Phytotax. Sin. 29(6): 551 (1991).

Photo Anh Hoang

Vietnamese name: Kiếm nanulum

Chinese name: 珍珠矮 zhen zhu ai

Latin Name: Cymbidium nanulum Y. S. Wu & S. C. Chen 1991

Family: Orchidaceae

Synonym Name: No synonyms are recorded for this name.

Description: Terrestrial, autotrophic herb up to 16 cm tall with a slightly fleshy subterranean rhizome. Rhizome compressed, cylindrical, 5–6 cm long, usually 6–8 mm thick, with many nodes along its length. Leaves 2–3, erect, linear, 25.0–30.0 × 1.0–1.2 cm, base enclosed by fibrous sheaths, apex subacute, leaves deciduous prior to flowering. Inflorescence arising from base of plant, erect, 12–14 cm high; rachis laxly 4–5-flowered. Floral bracts linear or linear-lanceolate, 10–13 mm long, light green. Flowers fragrant, 4.0–4.3 cm wide (measured across the lateral sepals); pedicels and ovaries 18–22 mm long, strongly twisted, light green; sepals and petals greenish yellow with 5 prominent purplish red longitudinal striations. Dorsal sepal forming hood over the column, 18–20 × 6–7 mm, oblong apex obtuse-rounded, shortly apiculate; lateral sepals 18–20 × 6–7 mm, oblong, apex obtuse-rounded, spreading horizontally, slightly falcate. Petals oblong, 13–16 × 6–7 mm, strongly clasping the column, apex obtuse-rounded, shortly apiculate. Labellum oblong-ovate, c. 14 × 6 mm, free from basal margins of the column, trilobed; lateral lobes white to pale pink with purplish-red striations, suberect, c. 8 mm long, margin entire, slightly undulate at junction of mid-lobe; mid-lobe yellowish green with irregular purplish-red spots, recurved, c. 6 × 6 mm, ovate-elliptic, apex obtuse, retuse, margin undulate; disk white with purple red striations, with 2 longitudinal lamellae which convergent toward their apices forming a tube. Column 6–7 mm long, curved, inner side cream in colour with red markings. Anther cap c. 2.0 × 2.5 mm, suborbicular, surface colliculate, light yellow, mouth slightly orange; pollinia 4, in 2 pairs of 2, each pollinium c. 1 × 0.5 mm, ovoid attached by short, elastic caudicles to a usually triangular viscidium.

Phenology: Flowers observed in April to September.

Distribution: Found in Manipur India and China (SW Guizhou, Hainan, SE and SW Yunnan). In Viet Nam: Ea H'leo (/E-a-hờ-leo/) Districtl, Đắk Lắk province, Tây Nguyên, Việt Nam.

Ecological: Rocky places in forests, Grows on soil substrate in a subtropical deciduous mixed forest (alt. c. 1220 m) neara stream

Reference:

- Vikas Kumar, Cymbidium nanulum Y.S. Wu & S.C. Chen, a new addition to the orchid flora of India; Telopea 20: 137–141, 2017

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