华石斛 hua shi hu

Stems erect or arcuate, ascending, cylindric, slender, occasionally dilated and clavate distally, to 21 cm, 3-4 mm in diam., unbranched, with many nodes, internodes 1.5-3 cm. Leaves several, distichous, usually alternate along upper part of stem, ovate-oblong, 6-11 × 2.5-4.5(or more) cm, with black hairs on both surfaces when young, hairs often deciduous when old, base decurrent and forming clasping sheaths, apex obtuse and unequally bilobed; leaf sheaths with thick black hairs when young. Flowers solitary on upper portion of leafy stem; floral bracts ovate-lanceolate, 6-7 mm, abaxially densely black hairy, acute. Pedicel and ovary 1.5-2.5 cm; base with 2 or 3 unequal sheaths; ovary slightly clavate. Flowers yellow, apex of lip mid-lobe purplish red, lamellae red. Dorsal sepal ovate, ca. 20 × 7-9(or more) mm, 5-veined, apex acute; lateral sepals obliquely triangular-lanceolate, upper margin ca. as long as dorsal sepal, wider than dorsal sepal, 7-veined; mentum broadly conic, ca. 13 mm. Petals subelliptic, slightly longer and broader than dorsal sepal, 7-veined, apex slightly obtuse; lip obovate in outline, to 3.5 cm, 3-lobed; lateral lobes subflabellate, embracing column; mid-lobe oblate, bilobed, smaller than width between 2 lateral lobes; disk with 5 crestlike central lamellae. Column ca. 5 mm, teeth triangular, large; anther cap subobovoid, apex slightly bilobed, finely papillate.

● Epiphytic on tree trunks in open and mountain forests; ca. 1000 m. Hainan.