巾唇兰属 jin chun lan shu

Authors:Authors: Xinqi Chen & Jeffrey J. Wood

Herbs, epiphytic, small, monopodial. Stems short, with a few close leaves. Leaves clustered, flat, elliptic to oblong, ± fleshy, base often ± twisted, jointed and sheathing, apex unequally laterally bilobed. Inflorescence lateral, racemose, usually rather short, unbranched, with 1 or 2 flowers open at a time, placed in 2 rows; rachis somewhat thickened and complanate; floral bracts distichous. Flowers opening successively, lasting 1 or 2 days, white, cream-colored, yellow, or orange, medium-sized. Sepals and petals free, similar. Petals slightly smaller, margin often dentate; lip adnate to column base, immovable, spurred, 3-lobed, internal callosities absent; lateral lobes either rather large, well developed, and truncate or reduced to small earlike lobes, when present often fimbriate or toothed; mid-lobe large, fleshy and solid or reduced to a small fleshy lobe. Column short, slightly dorsiventrally compressed, footless; stigma very large; rostellum long, narrow, 2-lobed; pollinia waxy, 2, subglobose, entire, attached by a common long subcuneate or spatulate stipe to a very small viscidium.

About ten to 12 species: from India (Assam) through Thailand and Malaysia to Indonesia and the Philippines; one species in China.