夏凤兰 xia feng lan

Plants lithophytic, autotrophic. Pseudobulbs subfusiform, slightly bilaterally flattened, 1.5-2.5 × 1.5-2 cm, enclosed in leaf bases. Leaves 4-8, lorate, 32-36 × 0.8-1.6 cm, papery, with midvein raised abaxially, articulate 3-6 cm from base, apex acuminate. Inflorescence lateral, spreading horizontally or arching; rachis laxly 10-13-flowered; floral bracts lanceolate, 10-15 mm. Flowers not scented, 4-6 cm in diam.; pedicel and ovary 25-35 mm; pedicel elongating in fruit; sepals and petals whitish or yellowish heavily tinged pale purple-brown, dorsal sepal with purple-brown veins; lip dark purple with a yellow-green, triangular-lanceolate patch at center. Dorsal sepal porrect, lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, 42-48 × 8-9 mm, apex acuminate or sharply acute; lateral sepals porrect, slightly narrower and oblique. Petals narrowly oblong-lanceolate, 28-32 × 7-8 mm, apex sharply acute; lip ovate-oblong, 27-30 × 10-12 mm, not fused to basal margins of column, 3-lobed below middle; lateral lobes erect, suborbicular, slightly clasping column; mid-lobe recurved, ovate-oblong, 16-18 × 8-11 mm; disk with 2 glandular-pubescent lamellae extending from base of lip to near base of mid-lobe. Column 13-14 mm; pollinia 2. Fl. Jun-Aug.

● Mossy rocks in forests along valleys; 1500-1600 m. S Yunnan (Mengla).

This species is morphologically similar to Cymbidium dayanum, differing in its larger flowers more heavily tinged with purple. Cymbidium dayanum in Borneo has dark purple flowers. The possibility that it is a polyploid of C. dayanum, or a hybrid of it, should be investigated.