Zeuxine longilabris (Lindl.) Trimen
In Syst. Cat. Fl. Pl. Ceylon: 90 (1885)
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Haplochilus longilabris (Lindl.) D.Dietr. in Syn. Plant. 5: 173 (1852)
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Monochilus longilabris Lindl. in Gen. Sp. Orchid. Pl.: 487 (1840)
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Monochilus affinis Wight in Icon. Pl. Ind. Orient. 5: t. 1728 (1851), sensu auct.
Zeuxine Lindl.
Subfamily: Orchidoideae Tribe: Cranichideae Sub tribe: Goodyerinae
Salient features: Terretsrial or sometimes lithophytic herb
Rhizome: Subterranean or superficial with few to many internodes rarely bulb like bearing roots. Roots fleshy with minute root hairs
Stem abbreviated or elongated terete with few to many scattered or subrosulate leaves
Leaves ovate lanceolate to elliptical with or without short petiole and amplexicaul sheath at the base, lamina with yellowish green, purplish brown, or blackish velvet sometimes white or purple band on mid vein, sometimes leafless during anthesis
Flowers small resupinate sometimes erect appearing non resupinate; Sepals free glabrous or pubescent; Dorsal sepal usually forming hood with petals on column, lateral sepals enclosing base of labellum; Petals narrow obliquely ligulate ovate to elliptic; Lip with saccate base usually with glands at edges, edges inflexed mesochile tubular epichile 2or three lobed
Column short with or without appendages in the front. Anther erect or antrorsely inclined, membranous dehiscent, oblong shortly apiculate, somewhat stipitate ; pollinia 2, entire or 2-partite lamellate, wIth a caudicle, and a small gland from the base in between rostellar arms Stigmatic surface at the base of the rostellum, convex, broad, depressed or in the form of viscous calli.
Ovary glabrous or pubescent twistwed
Capsules with pedicel not elongating, small, erect, ovoid to subglobose .
Genus Zeuxine is classified into two sections
Zeuxine Section Psychechilos(Breda) Blume
Features: leaf obliquely ovate-lanceolate to elliptic, petiolate
It is represented by single species at Sindhudurg district.
Ecology: This is found growing under dense shades of trees at the margin of moist evergreen forest in humus rich soil in evergreen forest
Terrestrial herbs 15- 45 cm tall.
Rhizome: 3-12cm long 2-7mm in diameter, fleshy, greenish-brown, swollen at the nodes. Roots on lower side of rhizomes, fleshy
Stem sacuulent unbranched, dull green, gradually narrow upwards, glabrous, covered by membranous sheaths formed by withered leaf bases
Leaves ovate to elliptic-ovate 1-6, clustered at the base, pale olive-green, subcoriaceous, membranous on drying, 1-7 cm, somewhat loosely sheathing, ovate-oblong to ovate-lanceolate, acute, entire; midnerve prominent with 3-5 faint, lateral ones; petioles up to 1 cm long, inflated sheathing at the base
Inflorescence raceme 2-17 cm long, lax, secund or subsecund 2 to many flowered, Peduncle 8-22 cm long, terete, bracteate, densely and retrorsely villous-tomentose ; bracts 0.7-2 cm long, ovate-lanceolate, acute, entire, villous-tomentose with 2-3 sheathing bracts
Bracts 4-16x3-6mm,lanceolate acuminate at the apex, perbulent or pillose,one veined
Flowers 0.3-1.2cm long, resupinate, greenish white, bracteate, very shortly pedicellate.
Sepals free, unequal, brownishgreen, villous-tomentose outside, glabrous inside, acute, entire 1-nerved; drosal sepal 7X 5 mm, ovate-triangular, concave, acuteat the apex, lateral ones 5 X 2.5 mm ovate, subfalcate, subacute at the apex
Petals 7 X 2.5 mm slightly shorter than the dorsal sepal. White greenish ting, oblong-falcate, broadly obtuse at the apex 1 vined
Labellum white, 1.2 cm long;, hypochile shortly saccate at the base with appendages one on either side mesochile narrow convolute, epichile 2-lobed ; lobules obliquely oblong, irregularly toothed on the outer margins about 8 x2-3 mm, with reddish green ting at the base.
Column 1-1.5mm long with 2 short appendages one on either side he base of rostellum, rostellum bifid obtuse at the the apex slightly curved downwards Anther about 3 X 1.5 mm the apiculus about 11-2 times as long as the cells covering the caudicle only the gland being exposed; the dorsal surface with 2 broad parallel, red bands meeting about the centre and then again diverging;
pollinia 2, oblong, lamellate, with an oblong tapering caudide and a small, ovate-orbicular gland. Stigmatic surfaces 2, pale brown.
Ovary brownish-green, 1x0.2 cm oblong, twisted pale green pubescent
capsules are obvate pubescent 10 to 15mm in length
Flowering: January
Fruiting: February-March