42. Calanthe plantaginea Lindley, Gen. Sp. Orchid. Pl. 252. 1833.
车前虾脊兰 che qian xia ji lan
Plants 40-65 cm tall. Rhizome inconspicuous. Pseudobulbs broadly conic, 1.5-2 cm in diam., with 4 sheaths. Leaves 2-4, basal, not well developed at anthesis, not deciduous; blade elliptic, 25-28 × 8-12 cm, apex acute; petiole-like base ca. 20 cm, usually forming a pseudostem ca. 16 cm. Scape arising from leaf axil, 30-40 cm, puberulent; rachis 13-22 cm, laxly to subdensely 12- to more than 20-flowered; floral bracts persistent, lanceolate, 5-10 mm, glabrous. Flowers scented, pendulous, pinkish, white, or yellow; pedicel and ovary 14-24 cm, puberulent. Sepals similar, ovate-lanceolate, 15-17 × 6-7 mm, abaxially sparsely puberulent, 5-veined, apex acuminate; lateral sepals slightly smaller than dorsal sepal. Petals oblong or elliptic, 14-15 × 4-7 mm, glabrous, 3-veined, apex acute; lip adnate to entire length of column wings, subflabellate, 10-12 × 8-13 mm, 3-lobed; lateral lobes ovate-cuneate, oblique, ca. 4 × 5-7 mm, apex obtuse and incurved; mid-lobe transversely dilated, suboblong to orbicular, ca. 5 × 7 mm, apex apiculate; disk with 3 inconspicuous ridges, central one often lamellate; spur slightly arcuate, cylindric, 5-20 mm, slender, outside puberulent. Column ca. 7 mm, dilated at apex, nearly glabrous, wings decurrent to lip and connecting to ridges on disk; rostellum 2-lobed; lobes ca. 1 mm; pollinia narrowly ovoid, ca. 1.7 mm. Fl. Mar-Apr. 2n = 40.
Evergreen broad-leaved forests; 1800-2500 m. S and SE Xizang, SW and W Yunnan [Bhutan, India, Kashmir, Nepal].
