| Pantling's Jewel Orchid |
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Botanical name: Zeuxine pantlingii Family: Orchidaceae (Orchid family)
Pantling's Jewel Orchid is a new orchid species identified
as recently as 2006. The name is in honour of Robert Pantling (1856–1910),
a British botanist known for his masterly drawings and colour paintings of
Indian orchids. Pantling's Jewel Orchid is a terrestrial herb, 14.5–24 cm tall.
Rhizomes are creeping, hardly distinguishable from the aerial stem, rooting at
nodes, 3–5 cm long. Aerial stem is erect, purple-green, 3–6 cm long.
Leaves are 4–6 in number, with pink-white stalks, 7–10 mm long. Leaf blade
is obliquely ovate-lance-shaped, entire, narrow tipped, glossy, with dark
velvety-green upper surface and purple-green lower surface, 1.2–3.6 cm
long, 7–15 mm wide. Inflorescence is a 2–3 flowered very lax spike at the
end of stem. Flowers are 1.2–1.6 cm long, pink-white, appearing to be
inverted. not fully opening. Pantling's Jewel Orchid is closely allied to
Zeuxine goodyeroides, but can be distinguished by several
characters.
Pantling's Jewel Orchid is found in West Bengal, Darjeeling District, near Mongpoo, at altitudes of about 900 m. Flowering: August–September.
Identification credit: Avishek Bhattacharjee
| Photographed at Mongpoo, Darjeeling, West Bengal. |