159. ORCHIDACEJ^. [1. Habenaria. 



9. H. commelinifolia, Wall. 



A ground orchid 1-5-2 -5 ft. high with a robust leafy stem with 

 oblong to oblong-lanceolate leaves 3-7" long, passing into lanceolate 

 sheaths above and numerous white scentless flowers -o-'To" diam., 

 well marked by the deflexed gibbous lateral sepals -4" long with a 

 small beak above (at the apex), smaller orbicular median hooded 

 sepal and by the linear lip with two very slender filiform lateral 

 diverging segments ; spur very long, reaching 2 • 5" and doubly 

 curved, with a funnel-shaped mouth and slightly inflated apex. 



Open ground in the forests, common. Siugbhum ! West Bengal and Behar, 

 Kurz ! Gyra, T. Thomson ! Plains of Behar, T. Thomson ! Singbhum ! Man- 

 bhum ! Hazaribagh, Clarke ! Ranchi, Clarke, Prain ! Fl. Sept. 



Leaves with a translucent white edge, sometimes conduplicate. Spike 4-8" 

 long. Filiform lateral segments of lip -7-1" long. Tubes of the anthers very- 

 long projecting forward ; staminodes seated on the long arms of the column. 

 Ovary with its long filiform beak 1-2-1 -5", upper two-thirds filiform. Capsule 

 • 5" fusiform, beaked. 



10. H. furcifera, Limll. 



A ground orchid 12-18" high with 3-5 leaves 3-6" long clustered 

 towards the base of the stem, which is furnished with 3-4 bract -leaves 

 above and a rather lax spike 4-6" long of gi-een flowers • 6-- 7". Sepals 

 spreading or reflexed subequal in length •15-- 17", dorsal concave 

 deltoid-ovate obtuse 3-4-nerved, lateral dimidiate-ovate or falcately 

 oblong-lanceolate about half breadth of dorsal, subacute. Lip trifur- 

 cate, • 3", side-segments filiform, nearly twice as long as the linear mid- 

 lobe, spur longer than the -5" curved ovary, very slender, involute. 

 Staminodes prominent as large tubercles. 



Under dense shade in the forest. Singbhum ! Ranchi (Ichadagh) ! Gangpur, 

 Cardoa ! Sarguja, Cardon ! Fl. Aug.-Sept. 



Tubers 2 ovoid about 1" long. Base of stem covered with sheaths below the 

 cluster of leaves. L. variable in shape mostly narrowly elliptic or ell. -oblong, 

 some oblanceolate, elUptic or obovate, acute or shortly acuminate, longer narrowed 

 at base but without petiole, uppermost sometimes quite amplexicaid. Spike 

 narrow, cylindric, with lanceolate acuminate bract about as long as the beaked 

 ovary. Petals slightly broader than the sepals, -08" wide, oblong obtuse (or 

 retuse, F.B.I.), 2-nerved. Anther rather small, tubes upcurved. Stigmatic 

 processes short. Capsule -5", fusiform, turgid, decurved, with thick ribs and 

 beak one-foiuth as long as the body. 



11. H. affinis, Wight. 



Closely resembling H. furcifera. Leaves elliptic -lanceolate acu- 

 minate 4-6" by 2-2-5", hardly petioled. Spike 4-10" of green flowers 

 about the size or a little larger than those oi furcifera. Lip 3-partite 

 nearly twice as iong as the -2- -25" long sepals, middle lobe narrowly 

 lanceolate, side-lobes linear or linear-subulate, rather shorter (or 

 longer, F.B.I.) than the mid-lobe. Spur incurved or even hooked, 

 half or rather more than half as long as the ovary. 



Singbhum, Clarke, fide F.B.I. But Clarke's specimens are in fruit, and I rather 

 think they are H. furcifera, especially as this is frequent in Singbhum and I have 

 never found undoubted affinis. 



12. H. marginata, Coleb. 



Rather a dwarf orchid 6-12" high. Leaves several in lower fourth 

 or near base of stem, with a white or yellowish line round the margin, 



1157 



