Goodyera marginata - Margined Rattlesnake Plantain

Margined Rattlesnake Plantain is a terrestrial orchid 10-25 cm tall with hairless stem and leaves ovate-elliptic to ovate-lanceshaped, subrosulate or spaced along stem, fleshy, somewhat pointed, green, with regularly white netveined markings above and white band along midvein. Leaf-stalk-like base and tubular sheath is 1.2-2.5 cm long. Flowers are borne in an elongates spike up to 20 cm long. Bracts are pale grayish green, linear-lanceshaped, tapering, 12 x 3 mm; ovary and flower-stalk cylindric-spindle-shaped, velvet-hairy, 7 x 4 mm. Flower-cluster-stalk is pale green, vaginate, sparsely velvet-hairy. Flowers are white or pale pink, not fully opened. Sepals are greenish-pink, nearly hairless, blunt at tip, 1-veined, 5.0 x 2.5 mm; dorsal sepal ovate-oblong, appressed to petals forming a hood; lateral sepals curved-oblong, oblique. Petals are ovate-elliptic, 1-veined, hairless, 4.5 x 1.5 mm. Lip is ovate concave-saccate, with three dents outside, the middle one protuberant; epichile pointed at tip, slightly recurved, pink at the bend. Margined Rattlesnake Plantain is found in the Himalayas, from Uttarakhand, Nepal to China, at altititudes of 1500-3600 m. Flowering: June-October.