Habenaria crinifera

Description

Habenaria crinifera is a species of orchid found in Asia. It is known as Narilatha in Sinhala and Doll Orchid in English. These orchids, which bloom in whole groups in late rains, are tuberous orchids with both epiphytic and terrestrial habitats. Flowers are white with smooth edged petals. The lip white, 3 times as long as sepals, with a long claw, 3-lobed with side lobes somewhat wedge shaped, having the outer margins toothed and with a slender tail as long as itself produced from the inner margin. The midlobe is clawed, cleft into 2 lance shaped long tailed segments as long as side lobes. Spur is slender and incurved. Habenaria, commonly called rein orchids or bog orchids, is a widely distributed genus of orchids in the tribe Orchideae. About 880 species of Habenaria have been formally described. They are native to every continent except Antarctica, growing in both tropical and subtropical zones. Plants in the genus Habenaria are mainly terrestrial plants with fleshy tubers and upright, tall, thin or fleshy stems. The leaves are either arranged in a rosette at the base of the plants or scattered up the stem. The flowers are resupinate, usually small, white, green or yellowish and arranged along a tall flowering stem. The dorsal sepal and petals overlap to form a hood over the column. The labellum has a spur and usually three lobes which may be short or long and threadlike. The distinguishing feature of the genus is the presence of two club-shaped projections on the stigma. The genus Habenaria was first formally described in 1805 by Carl Ludwig Willdenow and the description was published in Species Plantaru. The generic name is derived from the Latin word habena meaning "thong", "strap" or "rein". Rein orchids are distributed in tropical and subtropical regions and with centres of diversity in Africa and Brazil. Seventeen species are known in Australia.