Liparis walakkadensis - Silentvalley Liparis

Silentvalley Liparis is a rare species of orchid first discovered and described in 1999 from the Walakkad region of Silent Valley. Flowers are tiny, brownish red in color - the lip is about 5 mm wide. It is a terrestrial orchid with stem 4 cm long, swollen, covered by 3 papery leaf sheaths. Leaves are 3, upper 2 almost opposite, lower one smaller, nearly stalkless, blade 1.2-3 x 0.6-1.4 cm, ovate, membranous, greenish, unequal at the base and continued into sheaths, 1-1.5 cm long, covering the stem, tapering, pointed, 5-veined, prominent beneath, wavy. Flowers are borne in lax racemes. Flower-cluster-stalk upto 15 cm long, angled, 5-ribbed, axis upto 2 cm long. Flower-stalks are twisted, 5 mm long. Sterile bracts many, resembling minute leaves. Floral bracts ovate, 2.0 x 0.7 mm, tapering, 1-veined. Sepals are almost similar. Dorsal sepal 4x1 mm, oblong, pointed, 3-veined, entire. Lateral sepals broadly elliptic, faicate, 3.0 x 1.5 mm, entire, attached on the back of lip, 3-veined, subpointed. Petals linear, thread-like, 5.0 x 0.4 mm, t-veined, flat at tip. Lip is clawed, transversely inverted-heart-shaped-round, notched, 3x5 mm, minutely finely toothed on the margin, 5-veined, extreme lateral veins branching; disc with 9-transverse Calli at base, calli flap like. Column is 0.4x0.3 mm, slender, incurved, broadly winged near the top, 2-toothed; anther at ends. Ovary is with 1.8 mm long flower-stalk. As of now, the plant is known only from Silent Valley, Kerala and Agastyamalai hills, Tamil Nadu. Flowering: August-September.