159. ORCHIDACE^. [1. Habenaria. 



3. H. Susannge, Br. 



A very striking ground orchid 2-3 ft. high with robust leafy stem, 

 elliptiii-oblong or lower ovate-oblong leaves 3-8" long and few large 

 white flowers 2-5-4" diam. with deep brown lip and lacerate side- 

 lobes, in a few-fid. raceme. 



Not unfrequent in thin forest. Singbhum ! .Palamau ! Hazaribagh, Clarke t 

 Gangpur, Cardon ! Fl. Sept.-Oct. 



Tubers 3-4" long contracted into a large sheathing base, subacute, many-nerved. 

 Bracts leafy. Flowers subsessile with an elongate ovary, fragrant. Lateral 

 sepals spreading oblong-lanceolate (subquadrately oblong, F.B.I.), dorsal sepal 

 very broad obovate or rhomboid, rounded. Petals linear. Lip with digitately 

 pectinate broad side-lobes and broadly linear midlobe dilated downwards, spur 

 4-5-6" long or twice as long as the ovary. Anther very broad and large, cells 

 slightly divergent, tubes adnate to the sides of the column ; polUnia linear, about 

 as long as their caudicle. Booker {F.B.I.) adds : " This is a true Platanthera, in 

 wanting the produced stigmatic processes, and the obsciue rostellum, which is 

 marked by a triangular line only." 



4. H. platyphylla, Spreng. 



A pretty ground orchid 8-12" high with a pair (rarely 3) of very 

 dark green broadly elliptic or orbicular leaves 1 - 5-3" long appressed 

 to the ground, and pure white flowers in rather dense spikes -5- -6" 

 diam. but variable in size. Lateral sepals spreading or drooping, 

 •22 — 4" long, somewhat obliquely ovate-oblong, broad, 6-7-nerved, 

 obtuse, dorsal sepal erect shorter elliptic concave ; petals linear, 

 shorter than the dorsal sepal and erect with it ; lip shorter than the 

 sepals or equalling them with a very slenderly lanceolate often de- 

 curved midlobe and 2 short petaloid, broader rounded side-lobes not 

 half the whole length of lip, spur very long, • 7-1 • 5", funnel-shaped at 

 its base and slenderly clavate towards its apex. Tubes of anther 

 like 2 horns, very long (up to '07"). 



Clayey ground on banks, especially near streams in the forest. Singbhum ! 

 Fl. Aug.-Sept. 



Stem between the leaves and the tubers clothed with sheaths. Leaves always 

 2 wherever I have seen it (ranging from Chota Nagpur to Chanda in the Central 

 Provinces), but 3-6 according to the F.B.I. ! Sheaths on the scape narrowly 

 lanceolate-acuminate, erect. Spike 2-4" long, round-topped. Flowers fragrant. 

 Ovary elongate long-beaked sessile, only one-half to three-foxurths as long as the 

 spur. Spur with a short tooth at its mouth, 



5. H. plantaginea, Litidl 



A pretty ground orchid with habit of jplatyphylla but always Avith 

 more than 2 leaves (usually 5-7) which are oblong or elliptic -oblong 

 1-3" long, rarely 4 • 5 by 1 • 5" (3-6" long, F.B.I. ). Scape slender 8-12" 

 with a rather lax spike of white flowers. Lateral sepals spreading 

 or erect dimidiate-ovate or falcate, •2--3"(-17", i^.5./.), 3-4-nerved, 

 dorsal concave erect rather shorter than the lateral, elliptic-ovate 

 3-nerved ; petals linear-lanceolate, erect, about equalling the dorsal 

 sepal, l-nerved ; lip much larger than the sepals -4" long and flabelli- 

 formly -4-- 5" broad with 2 large semi-ovate or falcately oblong 

 lateral lobes and equally long linear entire midlobe ; spur very slender, 

 usually upcurved, 1-1-5" long, scarcely widened either above or below. 

 Anther-tubes short upcurved. 



Similar localities with H. platyphylla, but more common. Singbhum ! Man- 



74 1155 



