Habenaria Crinifera-Doll Orchid

Habenaria Crinifera-Doll Orchid

Doll Orchid is a rare, medium sized, warm to cool growing terrestrial orchid with stem 10-30 cm tall. Sometimes it also grows on trees. Leaves are clustered towards the base of the stem, oblong lance-shaped pointed or tapering. The flowering stem is up to 25 cm long. Flowers are white, towards the tip of the flowering stem, looking like hanging dolls. Sepals are 7 x 5 mm, ovate; petals 7 x 1.5 mm, linear; lip about 2 cm long, clawed, side lobes cuneiform, saw-toothed, tip thread-like; midlobe flabelliform, saw-toothed, tip with a tail.

Habenaria crinifera is a species of orchid found in Asia. Habenaria crinifera is also called as Doll Orchid. Doll Orchid is found in Sri Lanka and South India. These orchids, which blossom in whole groups in late rains, are tuberous orchids with both epiphytic and terrestrial habitats.

Flowers are white with smoothly-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 longs side lobes. Spur is slender and incurved.