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Forest Calanthe
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Forest Calanthe
ative lanceshaped Photo: Pankaj Kumar
Common name: Forest Calanthe • Nepali: पाखा फूल Pakha phool
Botanical name: Calanthe sylvatica    Family: Orchidaceae (Orchid family)
Synonyms: Calanthe masuca

Forest Calanthe is a robust terrestrial herb, up to 70 cm tall. Leaves are 3-5, more or less in a basal rosette, large, up to 35 x 12 cm, lanceshaped, pleated, dark green. Flowers are borne in densely many-flowered cluster on flower-cluster-stalk slightly velvet-hairy. Flowers are white to purple; lip darker with an orange callus. Sepals lanceshaped, pointed, lateral sepals longer than the dorsal sepal. Petals elliptic to inverted-lanceshaped. Lip 3-lobed, side lobes small; mid lobe large, broadly obovate, notched at the tip. Spur 2-4 cm. Capsule is 2.5-3 x 1-1.5 cm, broadly oblong. Forest Calanthe is widespread in Africa, Madagascar and Indo-Malesia. It is also found in Western Ghats and Eastern Himalayas, at altitudes of 800-2000 m.
Identification credit: Pankaj Kumar Photographed in Dehradun & Tamil Nadu.
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