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Rhynchostylis Blume

Sub family: Epidendroideae      
Tribe Vandeae
SubTribe: Aeridinae
Derivation of name
From the Greek rhynchos, snout, and stylos, column, in reference to the beak-like column of the type species.
Salient features

  • Epiphytic herbs. 

  • Stem robust.

  • Leaves many, distichous, often lorate, channelled, unequally bilobed or toothed, usually with pale green stripes, articulate to a sheathing base.

  • Inflorescence lateral, racemose, erect or pendent, many-flowered. 

  • Flowers resupinate, with a ‘soapy’ fragrance. 

  • Sepals and petals free, similar, spreading, lateral sepals often wider and oblique. Petals smaller than sepals.

  • Labellum rigidly adnate to column foot, entire or slightly trilobed, midlobe dorsiventrally flattened, spurred at base; spur laterally compressed and backward-pointing, without internal callosties.

  • Column with a column foot; anther cap beaked; pollinia two, waxy, globular, cleft, solid, stipe linear, apex slightly dilated, viscidium ovate; rostellum beaked. 

Rhynchostylis retusa (L.) Blume

In Bijdr. Fl. Ned. Ind.: 286 (1825)

  • Aerides retusa (L.) Sw. in J. Bot. (Schrader) 1799(2): 233 (1800)

  • Epidendrum retusum L. in Sp. Pl.: 953 (1753)

  • Gastrochilus retusus (L.) Kuntze in Revis. Gen. Pl. 2: 661 (1891)

  • Limodorum retusum (L.) Sw. in Nova Acta Regiae Soc. Sci. Upsal., ser. 2, 6: 80 (1799)

  • Saccolabium retusum (L.) Voigt in Hort. Suburb. Calcutt.: 630 (1845)

  • Aerides guttata (Lindl.) Roxb. in Fl. Ind., ed. 1832. 3: 471 (1832)

  • Aerides praemorsa Willd. in Sp. Pl., ed. 4. 4: 130 (1805)

  • Aerides spicata D.Don in Prodr. Fl. Nepal.: 31 (1825)

  • Aerides undulata Sm. in A.Rees, Cyclop.: 39: 13 (1820)

  • Epidendrum hippium Buch.-Ham. ex D.Don in Prodr. Fl. Nepal.: 32 (1825)

  • Epidendrum indicum Poir. in J.B.A.M.de Lamarck, Encycl., Suppl. 1: 384 (1810)

  • Gastrochilus blumei (Lindl.) Kuntze in Revis. Gen. Pl. 2: 661 (1891)

  • Gastrochilus garwalicus (Lindl.) Kuntze in Revis. Gen. Pl. 2: 661 (1891)

  • Gastrochilus rheedei (Wight) Kuntze in Revis. Gen. Pl. 2: 661 (1891)

  • Gastrochilus spicatus (D.Don) Kuntze in Revis. Gen. Pl. 2: 661 (1891)

  • Orchis lanigera Blanco in Fl. Filip.: 641 (1837)

  • Rhynchostylis albiflora I.Barua & Bora in J. Econ. Taxon. Bot. 26: 251 (2002)

  • Rhynchostylis garwalica (Lindl.) Rchb.f. in W.G.Walpers, Ann. Bot. Syst. 6: 888 (1864)

  • Rhynchostylis guttata (Lindl.) Rchb.f. in Bonplandia (Hannover) 2: 93 (1854)

  • Rhynchostylis praemorsa (Willd.) Blume in Bijdr. Fl. Ned. Ind.: 286 (1825)

  • Rhynchostylis retusa f. albiflora (I.Barua & Bora) Christenson in J. Orchideenfr. 12: 344 (2005)

  • Saccolabium blumei Lindl. in Edwards's Bot. Reg. 27(Misc.): 55 (1841)

  • Saccolabium blumei var. majus F.Buyss. in L'orchidophile; Traité Théor. & Prat.: 461 (1878)

  • Saccolabium furcatum B.S.Williams in Orch.-Grow. Man., ed. 2: 141 (1862)

  • Saccolabium garwalicum Lindl. in J. Proc. Linn. Soc., Bot. 3: 32 (1858)

  • Saccolabium guttatum (Lindl.) Wall. in Numer. List: n.° 7308 (1832)

  • Saccolabium guttatum var. giganteum F.Buyss. in L'orchidophile; Traité Théor. & Prat.: 463 (1878)

  • Saccolabium guttatum var. holfordii F.Buyss. in L'orchidophile; Traité Théor. & Prat.: 463 (1878)

  • Saccolabium heathii T.Moore & Mast. in Gard. Chron., n.s., 24: 369 (1885)

  • Saccolabium macrostachyum Lindl. in Sert. Orchid.: t. 47 (1841)

  • Saccolabium praemorsum (Willd.) Lindl. in Gen. Sp. Orchid. Pl.: 22 (1830)

  • Saccolabium rheedei Wight in Icon. Pl. Ind. Orient. 5: 19 (1851)

  • Saccolabium spicatum (D.Don) Lindl. in Gen. Sp. Orchid. Pl.: 221 (1833)

  • Sarcanthus guttatus Lindl. in Edwards's Bot. Reg. 17: t. 1443 (1831)

Ecology common epiphytic orchid found growing on different species of Terminalia, Ficus, Syzygium   Strychnos nux vomica, Mangifera indica & so many other trees & lianas


Stem sheathed, stout, about 7 mm thick.

Leaves coriaceous, channelled, up to 30 X 2 cm, with a sharply-pointed praemorse apex.

Inflorescence racemes dense, cylindric, drooping, up to 30 cm long; peduncles about 6 cm long, and 2-3mm thick, terete, with a few membranous, brown, sheathing bracts. 

Flowers pale pink with deeper-coloured spots, pedicellate, bracteate. persistent, membranous, oblong-lanceolate, 

Bracts 3-4 persistent, membranous, oblong-lanceolate, acute entire , glabrous

Sepals Pale pink spotted with deeper coloured spots, dorsal sepal 7 x5 mm ovate-oblong, obtuse, entire, glabrous, faintly many-nerved; lateral sepals 8 x7 mm obliquely and broadly oblong, somewhat decumbent on the column-foot, acute. 

Petals 7x3 mm, of same colour as sepals, oblong, tapered at apex and base, entire, glabrous. 

Labellum pink-purple, whitish at base, curved upwards and forwards, about 9 mm long, 2-2.5 mll1 broad at the base, the lower half oblong, widening upwards to 7 mm, ape-x emarginate. 

Capsules 1.5-2x0.7-1 cm, obovoid- oblong, winged; pedicels 12-15 mm long, subclavate ; capsules usually reflexed. 


Flowering: May to June.

Fruiting: July onwards. 

Spur 6-7X 2 mm laterally compressed, pinkish, ± oblong and at right angles to ovary. 

Column with a column foot; Anther small, pink. anther cap beaked; rostellum beaked; pollinia two, waxy, globular, cleft, solid, stipe linear, apex slightly dilated, viscidium ovate; Ovary whitish or pale pink.

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