Jewel orchid

Description

Anoectochilus koshunensis is a species of plant in the family Orchidaceae native to Taiwan and to Nansei-shoto (Ryukyu Islands). Leaves are almost 8 cm long, with golden nerves, dark green, and slightly hairy. The spikes grow upwards with blooms in large intervals, facing down. They are usually white, with upper pink-red sepal and petals which form an eyelid. Lip base with a frayed edge. This kind of plant blooms mostly throughout the year, and is very much in demand for medical research once it has been reported that the local people on the island have used the plant to cure snake bite. Anoectochilus koshunensis differs from all species of Anoectochilus by the mesochil which is not afforded with pectinate lobes, but instead has broadly entire wing-shaped lobes, by the columnal appendages which are doubly folded and beak-shaped at the apex, and by the triangular lateral lobes at the mouth of the spurs. Anoectochilus koshunensishas thickened roots and a smooth solitary stem measuring 16 cm long by 3 mm, which become thick at the base. Simple pointed ruborous flowers, greasy-purple below, smooth above and pubescent near the base, leafless at the apex. Leaves alternating up to the middle of the stem, with 3-4 petiole, rounded-ovate blades measuring 2 1/2 cm long and 18 mm wide. Obtuse at the apex, acute at the base and round at the petiole. Smooth on both sides of the membranous 5 parallel nerves, reddish-purple underneath. Sheaths with petioles measuring 1 cm long, folded and slightly pubescent. Orchids in the genus Anoectochilus are terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, sympodial herbs with a creeping, above-ground rhizome with wiry roots that look woolly. The leaves are arranged in a rosette and are relatively broad and thin. They are dark green or brownish purple and have a contrasting network of silvery or reddish veins. The flowers are relatively large, hairy, velvety, resupinate and arranged in a short spike. The dorsal sepal and petals overlap to form a hood over the column with the lateral sepals spreading apart from each other. The labellum is relatively large with two sections - an upper "epichile" and lower "hypochile" separated by a narrow section. The hypochile has a cylinder-shaped spur containing two large glands and is joined to the epichile with a "claw" that has spreading teeth or a long fringe. The fruit is a hairy capsule containing a large number of winged seeds.