竹叶兰 zhu ye lan

Bletia graminifolia D. Don, Prodr. Fl. Nepal. 29. 1825; Arundina bambusifolia Lindley; A. chinensis Blume; A. chinensis var. major S. Y. Hu; A. graminifolia var. chinensis (Blume) S. S. Ying; A. stenopetala Gagnepain.

Plants 40-100(-150) cm tall. Stem rigid, enclosed by leaf sheaths. Leaves numerous, 8-20 × 1-2 cm, leathery or papery, apex acuminate; sheaths 2-4 cm. Inflorescence 2-20 cm, racemose or 1- or 2-branched at base and paniculate, 2-10-flowered, flowers opening in succession; floral bracts broadly ovate-triangular, 3-5 mm, sheathing at base. Flowers white or pink, sometimes slightly tinged with purple; pedicel and ovary 1.5-3 cm. Sepals narrowly elliptic to narrowly elliptic-lanceolate, 25-40 × 7-9 mm. Petals ovate-elliptic, 25-40 × 13-15 mm; lip 25-40 × 12-24 mm, apical margin undulate; lateral lobes incurved, embracing column, rounded; mid-lobe subsquare, 8-16 × 10-16 mm, apex shallowly divided; disk with 3 (rarely 5) lamellae. Column slightly arcuate, 20-25 mm. Capsule 28-35 × 8-15 mm. Fl. and fr. Jun-Nov, sometimes Jan-Apr. 2n = 32, 38, 40, 42.

Grassy slopes, streamsides, thickets, forests; 400-2800 m. N Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, S Hunan, Jiangxi, S Sichuan, Taiwan, SE Xizang, W to SE Yunnan, Zhejiang [Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam].

Reviewer L. Averyanov notes that Arundina caespitosa Averyanov (Taiwania 52: 289. 2007), described from Vietnam, is a distinct species and occurs in S China. However, the present authors prefer to treat all Chinese Arundina under a broad delimitation of A. graminifolia.