The Orchids of the Sikkim-Himalayas – Page 5 – Naresh Swami | The Orchids of the Sikkim Himalaya

Panisea uniflora (Lindl.) Lindl.

Epiphyte. Pseudo-bulbs as long as 2 to 4cm, coespitose, ovoid, mammillate, wrinkled throughout, attached are a few fibrous sheaths at the base. Leaves in pairs, narrowly oblong, acuminate, slightly narrowed at the base, sessile, 4 to 6 cm long and 1 to 1.5 cm in width. Flowers solitary, on a very short peduncle from the base of the pseudo-bulb. Flowers 2 cm across, sepals and petals greenish yellow, lip of the same shade on its apex and gradually progressing to bright yellow on the base side, also with few spots orange spots. Sepals oblong-lanceolate, sub-acute, spreading, five veined. Petals shorter than the sepals, sub-acute, broadly lanceolate, mid veined. Lip oblong, with a very short claw at the base, the side lobes erect and narrow with their acute apices pointing forward.

The Pursuit

A rare species of the wild, I had encountered only a few plants in whole of the last 4 years of survey in the region. The find was also accidental. I was surveying the tropical valleys of the region for some other species, and encountered the mammillate (nipple shaped) bulbs of this species, probably the only species of the region with that shape. The drawings of the referral book was not so clear enough to make an understanding of the same. Made some drawings of the bulbs and leaves and some photographs before leaving the area. Verified from various sources and came to the conclusion that it is Coelogyne uniflora Lindl (Panisea uniflora (Lindl) Lindl. Visited the plant again and again to see the appearance of buds. On each visit I and my friend surveyed the whole area in vain to find more specimens of it. By the mid of summer buds came and it started blooming. Working in the tropical valleys and also in the peak of summer is very tiring, not to mention about precise micro photography with 7 to 10 flashes at one go. The flowers are also solitary and on very short peduncle much closer to the pseudo-bulbs. This formation also made the entire documentation very arduous. Scarcity of the species left no options, other than to shoot the one in front of me. Finally after careful observations, selected this particular flower and produced this wonderful photograph. The lip of this flower got some orange spots which were not documented on camera earlier by anyone, even though it was reported on texts as early as 1888. As I know in the coming years I may be not able to find this species, I put extra efforts to document those orange spots on its lip with additional lighting techniques. The whole work took several hours on that day which saw the mercury up by many notches.

Coelogyne ochracea Lindl.

Epiphytic, pseudo-bulbs ovate-oblong to cylindric, furrowed, as long as 4 to 6 cm and about 1 to 2 cm in diameter, attached to a stout rhizome few centimeters apart. Leaves 8 to 12 cm long and about 2 cm in width, oblong, acute, narrowed to the channelled petiole. Racemes from the base of the old pseudo-bulbs, shorter than the leaves, erect or slightly decurved. Peduncle stout and with several large imbricating sheaths. Flowers white with yellow blotched lip, also very fragrant. Sepals and petals pure white, the side lobes of the lip has two blotches of yellow margined with orange red and two united orbicular yellow blotch with orange red margins on the base. Sepals sub-equal, oblong-lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, spreading. Petals, slightly longer than the sepals, much narrower, also tapering on both sides. Lip oblong, constricted about the middle, lateral lobes large, incurved, the edges serrulate; terminal lobe rotund to oblong, blunt, entire or very slightly notched at the apex, the disc with two ridges.

The Pursuit

The flowers of this species have got a very soothing fragrance. Not an uncommon species of the tropical forests. The unique shape of its pseudo-bulbs make it easily identifiable. I had photographed this species in bloom several times without much satisfaction. Last year it was decided to reshoot this flower in a much better way. My earlier interaction with this species made me well aware of its habitats and blooming days. Found a healthy plant from a small tree and waited for it to bloom. During the months of April and May this region of the Himalayas receive some heavy summer rains on few occasions. The summer rains are widely welcomed by the people of the region, as it fills the already dried streams and fields. Exactly on the day of my healthy plant’s blooming, the region received heavy rains. Watching the rains through my window I cursed myself for missing a wonderful opportunity this season too. By the time the rains stopped all those flowers in bloom were wet and with water drops attached. I knew those photographs will not be satisfactory. As the particular season is full of blooming activities each hour mattered for me. After a lot of thinking and planning I decided to spend one more day there to test my luck with the species. The next day was pretty sunny and I left home as early as sunrise in search of more flowers in bloom. Searched for an hour and found a few plants in bloom on several trees, but at 10 to 15 ft height. The trees were unbranched on their lower portion which denied a good seating posture for me to shoot. Collected some bamboos from the area, tied them together with small wooden logs in between to make a ladder like structure. Climbed up the tree with the help of that and found a few good flowers and shot some photographs of my imagination. The fragrance of the flowers was so soothing, it lingered along for a long time.

Pleione humilis (Sm.) D.Don.

Epiphyte, observed as lithophytes also. Pseudo-bulbs coespitose, narrowly ovoid, tapering to the apex, enveloped partly with fibrous sheaths. Leaves membranous, elliptic, acute, tapering to the base, sessile, about 4 to 7 cm long and 3 to 3 cm in width at its centre, deciduous during flowering season. Peduncle from the base of the pseudo-bulb, enveloped in tubular sheaths. Flowers solitary, throughout white, except the lip which is speckled with brown spots and streaks. Sepals sub-equal, oblong, acute, spreading and are five nerved. Petals much narrower than the sepals but slightly longer, obtuse, three nerved. Lip shortly clawed, sub-orbicular, without side lobes, expanding into a wide mouth with emarginate apex, the disc with numerous fringed lamellae.

The Pursuit

The deciduous nature of this species during the flowering season is a surprise to all flower watchers. Like the phrase “out of the blue”, one day all the of trees in its habitat will be blooming with attractive white flowers. I had studied this plant in detail and surveyed possible habitats and spotted them when they were in leaves only. The fibrous sheaths which envelop the bulbs will help to identify the species. As I was aware of the flowering season, I decided to visit the place during those months. In the year 2012, I visited the area during the flowering season. To my surprise I found a lot of trees on the way itself with this white beauty in full bloom. Proceeded ahead, deep inside the forest to be away from the peering eyes of the tourists. As it blooms in the winter months, which are devoid of dusty and gusty winds, finding a perfect flower is not a difficult affair. However, getting a perfect photograph of an orchid flower with a wide mouthed lip is always some what tricky. Irrespective of the position of the flash, it produces dark shades inside the lip. I have to bring out all my expertise in “micro-flash use” to bring out this wonderful photograph. The winter months also provide a good environment to spend considerable time to study and document each flower.

Coelogyne flaccida Lindl.

Epiphyte. Pseudo-bulbs arranged close together, ovoid-cylindric, with many large fibrous brown sheaths at its base, 4 to 7 cm long and 2 cm in diameter. Leaves in pairs, slightly coriaceous, narrowly oblong, acuminate, narrowed into a long channelled petiole of around 2 to 4 cm long, leaves 6 to 10 cm long and around 2 to 3 cm in width. Raceme arises from the base of the pseudo-bulb, almost as long as the leaves or sometimes more, decurved. Peduncle short and with large lax sheaths at its base. The sepals and petals are pale brown and lip white with many streaks of purple and yellow spots and markings. Sepals sub-equal, oblong-lanceolate, acute, spreading. Petals much narrower than the sepals, slightly shorter, acute. Lip oblong, the side lobes long, with acute apices; the terminal lobe oblong; the disc with three yellow ridges. The flowers are of a displeasing smell.

The Pursuit

The locals of the region keep away from this plant during its flowering season due to its unpleasant smelling flowers. Neither do they plant species in their home. This is a plant of the low altitudes and a summer blooming species. The flowers are very beautiful despite its unpleasant odour. Spotted the plant on routine surveys on several trees at low altitudes. It was noticed that most of the plants are grown at medium heights on trees which made my climbing efforts very easy. The flowers of the whole open together which makes it easy to spot. So every day I looked for them to bloom. Finally by the mid of March, with summer temperature rising, I got the species in bloom, plenty of them all over the region. Carefully observed a lot of flowers to find a perfect one to shoot and made this wonderful photograph of the species. The unpleasant odour of the flower will make everyone move away from it quickly. However, I spend considerable time there to look for the pollinators which frequented the flowers.

Coelogyne stricta (D.Don) Schltr.

Epiphyte with comparatively large sized cylindric, smooth pseudo-bulbs, sheathed at the base, long as 6 to 13 cm and 4 to 6 cm in diameter. Bulbs are attached at a distance more than 4 cm apart on very stout sheathed rhizomes. Leaves in pairs, slightly coriaceous, elliptic oblong, acute, narrowed at the base to a long petiole. Leaves as long as 15 to 25 cm and 2.5 to 4 cm in width. Peduncle arising between the leaves from the apex of the adult bulbs, rather short or of the same size of the leaves, naked on the lower portion, with many closely arranged imbricate sheaths just below the raceme. Raceme 7 to 10 cm long, distichous, many flowered. Flowers 2 to 4 cm across, sepals and petals pale ochraceous, the lip white, the middle lobe with a broad wide spot of yellow spread across and with two parallel purple streaks. The flowers are of an unpleasant smell. Sepals sub-equal, oblong, sub-acute, spreading, three veined. Petals very narrowed, slightly longer than the petals, sub-acute, single veined. Lip elongate, the lower part oblong and with narrow entire side lobes, separated from the sub-orbicular anterior lobe by an erose edged sinus; anterior lobe irregularly erose, undulate, obtuse; the disc with two erose-crenulate lamellae from the base to almost apex.

The Pursuit

A sub-tropical species, which blooms along with the summer rains. Its large pseudo-bulbs and long leaves in pair draws attention even to casual plant hunters not to mention about explorers like me. I spotted this plant long back, but missed it in bloom for 3 years in a row. Determined to photograph it in bloom, I planned my trip to the region in the year 2012. The location was a place across a deep valley however the distance to be covered to reach there through the winding road was not less than 18 km. The road was also not motorable in any way for light vehicles. We were forced to hire a four-wheel drive vehicle at a very high price. The “hiring negotiations” took quite some time and delayed our journey till noon. The “expert” driver of the vehicle mis-calculated a muddy portion of the drive at the “9^th mile curve” and got his precious asset stuck in knee deep mud. All his expertise went in vain and we were forced to have a long walk that afternoon with looming dark clouds over the hills. The location of the flowers was more than 6 km away and uphill. No option was left with us other than trekking. Reached the spot with much difficulty around 4 PM with blessings from the sky in the form of a heavy shower. Waited inside a makeshift shed for the rains to stop. The dense jungle coupled with cloudy skies made the area darker much before the sunset. I rushed to climb up the tree and photograph the flowers. The entire process took hardly 40 minutes to get a beautiful photograph like this. By the time I finished my task, it was pitch dark and with the help of my “Kathmandu” head lamp, we started the journey back. By the time we reached our stranded vehicle, its driver had disappeared leaving the vehicle back. To be frank, I really enjoyed that whole night walk, back to the base camp and to my surprise there was not a drop of rain that whole night!!!

Bulbophyllum roxburghii (Lindl.) Rchb.f.

Epiphyte. Pseudo-bulbs small, ovoid-globose, attached 1 to 2 cm apart on very thin naked rhizome. Leaf solitary, oblanceolate, obtuse, obliquely notched, narrowed to the base, sessile, 3 to 5 long and around 1.5 cm in width. Scape shorter or as long as the leaves, sub erect, with two sheathing bracts and at the apex a radiating umbel of 10 to 15 beautiful flowers. Flowers are of pale brownish green base with reddish brown to dark purple spots and veins. The dorsal sepal is greenish brown with five dark purple veins and a few spots of the same colour, the lateral sepals are greenish brown with numerous spots and markings of various shades of reddish brown. Petals are rather with darker shade than the sepals and with three dark purple veins and numerous spots. The lip is of brownish yellow base and with purple spots and fine margin of the same shade. Both the dorsal sepal and petals are with purple coloured marginal cilia. The dorsal sepals are small, free from the lateral pair at its base, concave, lying over the column, ovate-acute, the tip with several soft hairs on its edges. The lateral pair, much longer than the dorsal, 3 to 4 times, narrowly oblong, very blunt, sub-falcate, coherent. Petals ovate, sub-acute, with very oblique bases, the edges ciliate. Lip broadly ovate at the base much narrowed in the anterior half, the apex obtuse, the edges entire.

The Pursuit

Another interesting species of the region. Never ever thought I will come across it with such ease. I and one of my close friend, who came all the way from Delhi were camping on the banks of a small stream. He came to the hills only to enjoy a few nights of “tent stay” under the open sky. We were on a casual walk on the first evening of our stay looking for some fallen woods, so as to make a camp fire in the evening. Walked through the right bank of the stream for some meters and crossed the knee high waters on top of a fallen tree to the other side. Collected some fire wood and took the same path back. My friend with some wood logs on his hand was not able to balance his way back over the fallen tree and crossed the knee high waters through the stream. I crossed the stream first and asked him to pose for a photograph holding the logs while inside the waters. I clicked few pics and went to him to collect his mobile, so that a few pics can also be clicked on his mobile. Suddenly, I spotted this species on the under side of the fallen tree, with around 20 to 25 bulbs and eight umbels of flowers. Three of them were in full bloom. In excitement I even forgot the presence my friend and the logs we collected and started documenting this flower the rest of the evening. If my friend was not there, I would have never ventured to that region on those days and would have missed this beautiful species in bloom. The fact that the entire plant population on that fallen tree will get destroyed when the water level rises in the river in the coming monsoon season made us think about replanting those rare plants to a safer place. The next day we both carefully replanted all those plants from that fallen tree to a near by tree on the same habitat. This year too, my friend came exactly on the same days of the year to see his efforts bearing new flowers in the new host tree.

Bulbophyllum scabratum Rchb.f.

Epiphyte as well as lithophyte. Always in clusters with pseudo-bulbs crowded together forming dense turfs. Bulbs very small, ovoid less than 1 cm long. Leaf solitary, linear-lanceolate, acute, the base narrowed to the petiole 5 to 8 cm long and less than 2 cm in width. Scape much shorter than the leaves, slender, erect, minutely bracteate, bearing at its apex 3 to 7 flowers in an umbel. Flowers bright yellow throughout with slight ocherous tinge here and there. Dorsal sepal free at its base from the lateral pair, very concave, vaulted over the column, ovate, shortly acuminate. The lateral pair much longer than the dorsal, linear lanceolate, partly coherent, the bases and apices free. Petals broadly ovate, acute. The margins of petals and sepals are teethed. Lip oblong, sub-acute, entire, fleshy, very concave near the base.

The Pursuit

A very small plant, found specially on rocks attracts attention with its cluster growing nature. Found few clusters on rocks and on trees around a sub-tropical habitat. Identified as Cirrhopetalum caespitosum, Wall. ex Lindl (Bulbophyllum scabratum Rchb.f.) with its cluster growing property. Waited till the summer months to document it in bloom. The route through its habitat was used frequently by me for other surveys in the region, so at least visited the plant twice a week during the summer months. After seeing them in buds, the anxiety level to shoot them in bloom made my visiting frequency go up. However, I never took more tension on this particular species as there were a few clusters around that region. If I miss one in bloom I can zero on another one. It started blooming by the mid Summer and initially it seems the flowers are very small, so waited for a full grown cluster to bear healthy flowers and got this wonderful photograph.

Bulbophyllum spathulatam (Rolfe. ex E.W .Cooper) Seidenf.

Epiphyte. Pseudo-bulbs narrowly ovoid 1 to 3 cm long, attached 2 to 4 cm apart on annulated naked thin rhizomes. Leaf solitary, fleshy, narrowly elliptic, obtuse or sub-acute, narrowed to the base, sessile, 4 to 7 cm long and 1.5 to 3 cm in width. Scape stout, much shorter than the leaves, the peduncle also very short, with 5 to 8 flowers in umbel, flowers dorsally compressed. Rose red with spots of darker tints with leathery texture, will open only for a day (rather few hours only). Dorsal sepal broadly ovate, apiculate, concave and pressed to the column, lateral sepals much longer than the dorsal, oblong, obtuse. Cohering by their inner edges to form a sub-panduriform blade, slightly bifid at the apex. Petals oblong, nearly as long as the dorsal sepal, slightly falcate, obtuse. Lip oblong, entire, sub-acute, the base dilated, the upper surface slightly concave. The whole plant is of a coppery hue.

Cirrhopetalum bootanense, Hook — Bulbophyllum spathulatam (Rolfe. ex E.W. Cooper) Seidenf.

The Pursuit

A plant which will be in bloom for hardly an hour, during that short span all the flowers from each bulb open and close together. As the whole plant is of a coppery hue it is very easy to distinguish it from others. I got lots of them on tall trees from a tropical valley two years ago. It blooms in the peak summer days. I missed the first year, as it bloomed little earlier in the month than expected. Noted the days and waited for the next year. In 2012, I was there at the right time with buds about to bloom. As the crossing of the river and the trek to the spot take a few hours everyday, it was decided to camp at the site to get the perfect photograph. Camped there for three days, on the third day a few of the flowers bloomed at sunrise and could documented them very nicely. The opening of the flowers is also very interesting, the dorsal sepal just rises a little and the petals spread a little, the lip rises hardly half a cm. Everything happens within 5 to 10 minutes and the flower closes in less than an hour. By the time we reach the tree top, the show is finished!!!! So I sat on the tree top in the early morning hours to get the perfect shot.

Bulbophyllum reptans Lindl.

Epiphyte as well as lithophyte. Pseudo-bulbs smooth and obpyriform, small, less than 1.5 long, attached about 3 to 5 cm apart on very thin wiry, branching naked rhizomes. Lead solitary, linear-oblong, sub-acute, obliquely notched at the apex, narrowed at the base to the very short petiole, 6 to 9 cm long and less than 2 cm in width. Scapes shorter or longer than the leaves, sometimes in pairs, decurved, the peduncle sheathed at the base, bracteate, varying length, sometimes shorter in some cases longer than the laxly flowered raceme. Flowers yellow with dark purple veins. Sepals sub-equal, lanceolate, 3 nerved, spreading, lateral one with dilated bases. Petals smaller than the sepals, oblong, blunt, mid veined. Lip about as long as the petals, stipitate, oblong, expanded and grooved at the base.

The Pursuit

One of the few winter blooming species of the region. Winter months are somewhat relaxing days for me after a long tiring survey in the high hills in summer. In North Sikkim, I spotted few plants of Bulbophyllum reptans Lindl as epiphyte on few trees and as well as on rocks (lithophyte). The buds appear much before blooming in this species and they wait for the appropriate climatic conditions to bloom. I always visited that spot while traveling through that area. By the second week of October most of the other species die due to the cold wind from the high hills and it is time for me to say “Good bye” to the high hills. The only thing that made put up there was this species. Even though I know I will find this in the low altitude areas also, I wanted to study them from North Sikkim also. That wait was making my head spin. Finally, I decided to come down the hills on 16^th October, as some festivals are due to happen in the coming days and getting vehicles to move with all the luggages will become difficult. I was so disappointed to see it in buds on 15^th October also. Decided to start the down hill journey by 11 AM the next day, so that I will have some time to visit the plant in the morning and have a final look. On 16^th morning again I made a visit to see all of them still as buds only. It was the most disappointing moment in the hills. Just about to walk back, I spotted few more plants next to the main cluster with this whole raceme in full bloom. Just one raceme in bloom!!!! It seems the Lord had made one to bloom just for me only. Photographed it very nicely despite the harsh cold wind, thus putting a victorious end to my high hill trip of that year.

Bulbophyllum tortuosum (Blume) Lindl.

Epiphyte. Rhizome absent. Pseudo-bulbs narrowly ovoid, compressed, less than 3 cm, obliquely and alternately arranged, sub-imbricate, wrinkled. Leaf linear-oblong, tapering to each end, sessile, fleshy. Both pseudo-bulbs and leaves are brownish red tinged. Flowers very small and solitary, dull brown coloured, on very short pedicels from the bases of pseudo-bulbs. Sepals un-equal and with ciliolate margins, the dorsal ovate-lanceolate, blunt, spreading; the lateral pair slightly longer. Petals broadly ovate, with obtuse apices. Lip oblong lanceolate, slightly deflexed from the base, flat.

This species is named after J.L.Lister of the Bhotan Cinchona Association who discovered it. The authors, Sir George King and Robert Pantling described this species as “the most curious” of the whole Bulbophyllum genus.

Bulbophyllum tortuosum, (Blume) Lindl — Bulbophyllum tortuosum (Blume) Lindl.

The Pursuit

One has to put extra ordinary efforts to find “the most curious” ones. The leaf and pseudo-bulb’s tinge and the bulb arrangements of this species are very unique, which will help us to locate it. However, the search for this took several months without any success. I showed the colour drawings of Robert Pantling to a lot of local people to enquire if anybody had seen some plants like this somewhere, but in vain. I was not able to find the species in 2011, however in the early 2012, a trip was made to look for some other plants which I had spotted in my previous surveys. On the way back through the right bank of a small stream, I found some medium sized trees with some local climbers in flowers. Viewed them with my binoculars for a much closer view. Suddenly my eyes got locked to a pendulous bunch of some orchid species….. the view was not clear to do proper identification from the spot I was standing. Decided to have a closer look, crossed the river with the help of a few fallen bamboos and climbed up the hill and the tree to find a huge cluster of Bulbophyllum tortuosum (Blume) Lindl, in buds and in flowers. I have no words to explain my joy, I was really jumping up and down on top of that tree!!! Came down the tree, took camera and flashes up the tree and produced this beautiful photograph.