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Botanical name: Coelogyne mossiae Family: Orchidaceae (Orchid family)
Synonyms: Coelogyne glandulosa var. sathyanarayanae, Coelogyne glandulosa var. bournei Nilgiri Coelogyne is an orchid growing on rocks, with
rhizome creeping. It is named for Mrs. Thomas Moss; she and her husband
were 19th century Orchid collectors in Aigburgth, near Liverpool. It
has been much confused with
Veined Coelogyne. Flowers are
white, 3.5-4 cm across. Sepals and petals are blunt, petals clearly
broader than lateral sepals. Lip is 1.7-2 cm long, ovate-oblong, with
two keels. Coelogyne nervosa has 3 keels on the lip. Flower-stalk and
ovary 1.2-1.5 cm long. Flowers are borne at branch-ends to new shoots,
covered with leafy bracts. Floral bracts 3.5-4 x 0.8-1.2 cm, ovate
lanceshaped, scarious. Pseudobulbs are 4-10 x 2-2.5 cm, ovoid-conical,
smooth, longitudinally grooved,
covered with ovate-lanceshaped bracts, 4-5 x 2.5-3 cm. Leaves are 2 per
bulb, 10-14 x 3-4 cm, elliptic-lanceshaped, pointed at tip, narrowed at
base; mid-rib and about 8 nerves prominent. Nilgiri Coelogyne is
endemic to Nilgiri Hills, and is very rare.
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