Cheirostylis griffithii Lindley J. Proc. Linn. Soc., Bot. 1: 188. 1857.

大花叉柱兰 da hua cha zhu lan

Cheirostylis macrantha Schlechter.

Plants 15-20 cm tall. Rhizome creeping, terete to torose; roots hairlike, in raised bands along rhizome internodes. Stem erect, short to occasionally elongate, 2-5 cm, fleshy, 3- or 4-leaved. Leaves often withered at anthesis, congested to rarely well spaced, ovate, 1.8-2.5 × 1.2-2 cm, base subrounded, apex acuminate; petiole-like base and sheath 0.8-1.4 cm. Inflorescence 8-15 cm, sparsely villous, with 2 or 3 sterile bracts; rachis 1-2.5 cm, 1-3-flowered; floral bracts lanceolate, 7-9 mm, shorter than or ca. as long as ovary, apex acuminate. Flowers whitish, rather large; ovary 11-13 mm including pedicel, pubescent. Sepals 13-15 mm, basal 1/2 connate and forming a tube, outer surface sparsely pubescent; free apical lobes acute, spreading. Petals narrowly oblong, oblique, falcate, 13-15 × 2-2.5 mm, apex obtuse; lip 15-17 mm, 3-partite; hypochile slightly saccate, ca. 2 mm, containing 2 comblike calli, each callus 8- or 9-toothed; mesochile 5-7 mm; epichile orbicular, 5-6 × 6-7 mm, base with 2 green spots, 2-lobed; lobes deeply laciniate with 8-10 divisions, each division 1-3.5 mm. Column 2.5-3 mm; stelidia straight, linear, ca. 3 mm, ca. as long as rostellum arms; anther ovoid, ca. 2 mm; rostellum arms spatulate, ca. 3 mm. Fl. Sep. 2n = 26.

Damp places in forests; 2200-2300 m. C Yunnan [India, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand].