ORCHIDACEAE - China

EPIDENDROIDEAE 367tracted and dilated into equitant sheaths, articulate, apex obtuseor retuse. Inflorescence axillary, erect, 6–7 cm, slender, with 3ovate-lanceolate sheaths below middle; rachis 2–5 cm, manyflowered; floral bracts subovate, 1–1.5 mm. Flowers white orgreenish white, ca. 2 mm in diam.; pedicel and ovary 2–3 mm.Dorsal sepal elliptic-ovate, ca. 1.5 × 1 mm, obtuse; lateral sepalsobliquely ovate-triangular, ca. 1.5 × 1.5 mm. Petals subelliptic,ca. 1 × 0.6 mm; lip suboblate, ca. 1 × 1.3 mm, basewith a short claw and slightly saccate. Column short, foot distinct.Capsule ellipsoid, ca. 3 × 1.5 mm. Fl. Aug, fr. Sep–Oct.Epiphytic on trees in open places of forests; 800–1800 m. C and STaiwan, S Yunnan [Thailand, Vietnam].2. Phreatia morii Hayata, Icon. Pl. Formosan. 4: 58. 1914.大 馥 兰 da fu lanPseudobulbs tufted, ovoid-globose, ca. 1.5 cm in diam.,often covered with membranous sheaths, with 2 or rarely 3leaves at apex. Leaf blade narrowly oblong or narrowly elliptic,8–18 × 1.5–2.5 cm, base contracted and with convolute sheaths,articulate, apex acute. Inflorescence arising from base of pseudobulb,30–40 cm tall, slender, with 4–6 lax sheaths below;rachis ca. 10 cm, many flowered; floral bracts narrowly elliptic,ca. 4.5 mm. Flowers white, not opening widely; pedicel andovary ca. 3.5 mm. Dorsal sepal ovate-elliptic, ca. 2.8 × 2–2.3mm, concave, rounded; lateral sepals obliquely ovate, ca. 3 ×2.5 mm. Petals ovate-oblong, 2.2–2.5 × ca. 1.6 mm; lip contractednear middle, with a basal globose sac and a distinctclaw, and an ovate limb distally; limb minutely hairy adaxially.Column short, with a distinct foot. Fl. Jun.● Epiphytic on tree trunks or lithophytic on rocks along streamsides;below 1500 m. Taiwan.3. Phreatia taiwaniana Fukuyama, Bot. Mag. (Tokyo) 49: 441.1935.台 湾 馥 兰 tai wan fu lanThelasis taiwaniana (Fukuyama) S. S. Ying.Rhizome creeping. Pseudobulbs contiguous, nearly flattenedglobose, 3–5 cm, ca. 8 mm in diam., apex 1- or 2-leaved.Leaf blade linear or narrowly oblong, 1.5–4.5 × 0.3–0.8 cm,base slightly contracted and with sheaths, articulate, apex obtuseor acute. Inflorescence arising from base of pseudobulb, 5–10 cm, slender, with several sheaths; rachis 1–2 cm, manyflowered; floral bracts elliptic, ca. 2.6 mm. Flowers white,opening widely; pedicel and ovary 2.5–3 mm. Dorsal sepaltriangular-ovate or triangular-oblong, 2–2.5 × 1–1.3 mm, obtuse;lateral sepals subtriangular or ovate-triangular, oblique, ca.2.5 × 2 mm. Petals oblong-ovate, 1.7–2 × ca. 1 mm; lip ovatecordate,1.5–2 mm, base shortly clawed and with a shallow sac.Column short, foot distinct. Fl. Jun–Jul.● Epiphytic on large trees in moist forests; 800–1500 m. Taiwan.4. Phreatia caulescens Ames, Orchidaceae 2: 200. 1908.垂 茎 馥 兰 chui jing fu lanOctarrhena caulescens (Ames) Ames.Stem tufted, pendulous, usually 10–20 cm, not pseudobulbous,completely enclosed in overlapping brown basal leafsheaths. Leaves many, distichous on upper part of stem; leafblade linear, ca. 6 × 0.6 cm, acute. Inflorescence axillary, lateral,arching, ca. 8 cm, slender; rachis conspicuously longerthan peduncle; floral bracts ovate, ca. 3 mm, acute. Flowerswhitish, ca. 3 mm in diam.; pedicel and ovary ca. 3 mm. Sepalsovate, ca. 1.5 × 1 mm, acute. Petals elliptic, ca. 1.3 × 1 mm,acute; lip ± broadly oblong, ca. 1.5 × 1 mm, with short claw anda shallow sac at base. Column short. Fl. Aug.Epiphytic on large tree trunks at forest margins; ca. 1500 m. STaiwan [Philippines; Pacific islands (Vanuatu)].139. DENDROBIUM Swartz, Nova Acta Regiae Soc. Sci. Upsal., ser. 2, 6: 82. 1799, nom. cons.石 斛 属 shi hu shuZhu Guanghua ( 朱 光 华 ), Ji Zhanhe ( 吉 占 和 Tsi Zhan-huo); Jeffrey J. Wood, Howard P. WoodHerbs epiphytic, lithophytic, or less often terrestrial, polymorphic, deciduous or evergreen. Stems either: 1) rhizomatous, 2)erect and many noded, 3) erect and 1-noded or several noded from a many-noded rhizome, or 4) without a rhizome, new stems ofmany nodes arising from base of old ones; 1 or 2(–500) cm, tough or fleshy, 1 to several internodes swollen at or near base or alongentire length to form canelike pseudobulbs, ± covered with sheathing leaf bases and cataphylls, often turning yellow when dried.Leaves 1 to many, alternate, apical or distichous along stem, linear, lanceolate, oblong, or ovate, sometimes subterete or terete,papery to rigid and leathery, sometimes with black or brown trichomes especially on sheath, base articulate and often with claspingsheaths, apex usually 2-lobed or emarginate. Inflorescences lateral, generally distal, in some sections pseudoterminal, 1- to manyflowered, usually racemose, erect, horizontal, or pendulous; floral bracts usually insignificant. Flowers extremely variable in colorand shape, often showy, very small to large, resupinate or not resupinate, usually spreading, ephemeral or long-lived. Sepals similar,free, short to filiform; lateral sepals adnate to elongated column foot and part of lip to form a mentum, 0.1–3 cm. Petals free, marginentire to fimbriate; lip entire to distinctly 3-lobed, base joined to column foot, sometimes narrowly clawed at base, sometimesforming a closed spur with lateral sepals to which it may be joined laterally for a short distance; disk with 1 to several keels, sometimesverrucose-papillose, calli rarely present, sometimes with a transverse basal ridge. Column short, stout; foot long, sometimeswith a protuberance adaxially; apical stelidia obscure to distinct; viscidium present; pollinia 4 in appressed pairs, waxy, ovate oroblong, naked, i.e., without caudicles or stipes.About 1,100 species: India across to Japan, south to Malaysia and Indonesia, east to Australia, New Guinea, and the Pacific islands; 78 species(14 endemic) in 14 sections in China.