小叶独蒜兰 xiao ye du suan lan

Herbs, epiphytic. Pseudobulb ovoid-cylindric, 0.7-1.5 × 0.3-0.5 cm, geniculate-curved, 1-leaved; new pseudobulb arising directly from middle of old one. Leaf not fully developed at flowering, narrowly oblong or oblong-lanceolate, 2-6 × 0.2-1.1 cm, base contracted into a slender petiole-like stalk 1.5-2.8 cm. Inflorescence erect; peduncle 1.7-2 cm; floral bract oblong-lanceolate, 15-22 mm. Flower solitary, white with yellow streaks on lip, petals tinged pale pink toward apex; pedicel and ovary 7-8 mm. Dorsal sepal oblong-lanceolate, 33-36 × 6-7 mm; lateral sepals oblique. Petals oblanceolate, 31-34 × 4-6 mm; lip orbicular-rhombic, ca. 30 × 28 mm, base narrowed into a distinct claw 7-8 mm, obscurely 3-lobed; margins of lateral lobes slightly undulate and erose; mid-lobe broadly ovate, ca. 12 × 12 mm, apical margin erose, apex emarginate; disk with 2 entire lamellae extending from midway along lip to base of mid-lobe, interrupted for ca. 2 mm halfway along. Column ca. 32 mm, slender. Fl. Apr.

● S Guangdong.

Like many similar species, the leaf of Pleione microphylla begins to emerge at flowering but continues to develop after anthesis. The first hint of the leaf often can be seen in flowering plants in cultivation.