Herminium gracile King & Pantl., J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, Pt. 2, Nat. Hist. 65: 131. 1896; Perner & Luo, Orchids of Huanglong. 2007, photos on p. 38 (as "Androcorys pugioniformis").

Raskoti, Bhakta Bahadur, Schuiteman, Andre, Jin, Wei-Tao & Jin, Xiao-Hua, 2017, A taxonomic revision of Herminium L. (Orchidoideae, Orchidaceae), PhytoKeys 79, pp. 1-74 : 20-21

18. Herminium gracile King & Pantl., J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, Pt. 2, Nat. Hist. 65: 131. 1896; Perner & Luo, Orchids of Huanglong. 2007, photos on p. 38 (as "Androcorys pugioniformis"). Figs 7K , 12

Androcorys gracilis (King & Pantl.) Schltr., Notizbl. Bot. Gart. Berlin-Dahlem 7: 397. 1920.

Androcorys ophioglossoides Schltr., Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih.4: 53. 1919, syn. nov. Type: CHINA. Kouy-tcheou, Esquirol J., s.n. (Holotype: B, lost); Yunnan, Fugong county, Lumadeng, Yaping, 3400 m, Jin X.H et Zhang L., 11078 (Neotype: PE, here chosen).

Herminium esquirolii X.H. Jin, Schuit., Raskoti & L.Q. Huang, Cladistics 2015, syn. nov. Not Herminium ophioglossoides Schltr.

Type.

INDIA. Sikkim, Lachen valley , 07.1895, Pantling R., 397 (Lectotype: CAL! [CAL 0000000673]; Isolectotype: K! [K000880291], Isotype: P! [P00378583]) .

Description.

Plant 15 cm tall. Tuber globose, 4-6 × 3-5 mm. Stem with 1 or 2 tubular sheaths and 1 leaf at base. Leaf shortly petiolate and sheathing, (narrowly) ovate-elliptic to oblong-spathulate, 0.7-65 × 0.4-1.0 cm, apex obtuse. Inflorescence 7-10 cm, ebracteate, rachis 0.7-4 cm long, rather laxly 3-20-flowered, floral bracts scale- like, ca. 1 mm long, apex subtruncate to almost 3-dentate. Flowers yellowish green or green, 1.5-2 mm across, pedicel and ovary fusiform, slightly beaked, 2-4.5 mm long. Dorsal sepal hooded with petals, broadly oblong-ovate, 1-1.7 × 0.4-1.5 mm, concave, apex obtuse; lateral sepals deflexed, parallel to lip, obliquely elliptic-oblong, 2-2.8 × 1-1.5 mm, apex obtuse. Petals oblong-elliptic to obliquely ovate, 1.0-2.3 × 1.0-1.3 mm, apex obtuse. Lip entire, oblong-lingulate, rather abruptly dilated at base, 1.0-2.6 × 0.3-0.5 mm, with two basal concavities separated by a longitudinal callus ridge, apex obtuse to subacute. Column ca. 1 mm tall; rostellum broadly triangular, anther locules divergent, with somewhat elongate, incurved anther-channels; pollinia ovoid, with short but distinct caudicles, viscidium globose, staminodes oblong, stigmas 2, pulvinate, attached to base of rostellum. Fruit fusiform, ca. 5 mm long.

Flowering time.

July-August.

Habitat.

Terrestrial on shady, moss-covered slopes and in alpine grassland, at elevations of 3300-4200 m.

Distribution.

Bhutan, China, India.

Note.

When describing Herminium gracile , King & Pantling erroneously interpreted the base of the lip with its two concavities as being part of the column, hence they and later authors believed that this species lacked the basal concavities of the lip that are seen in H. pugioniforme . In fact, the two taxa are quite similar in lip morphology, but differ in that H. gracile has well-developed caudicles (rudimentary in H. pugioniforme ), distinct, elongated anther-channels (rudimentary anther channels), and deflexed lateral sepals that are held parallel with the lip (patent lateral sepals). In addition, H. gracile usually has a much more slender inflorescence with more widely spaced flowers. We find no significant differences in the protologue of Androcorys ophioglossoides ; the fact that Schlechter stressed the uniqueness of this species makes us suspect that he did not compare it with Herminium gracile .

Specimens examined.

CHINA: Qinghai, Maqin county, Dawu town 3980 m, 23.07.1993, Ho T. N. et al. 801 (PE) ; Shaanxi, Mei county , 3400 m, 30.06.1999, Zhu C. & Xu W., 1354 (PE) .

INDIA: Sikkim, Chumbi Valley, 3350 m, 07.1895, Pantling R., 374A (K); Singalila Range, 3658 m, 07.1896, Pantling R., 374B (K, P); Singalila Range, 3658 m, 07.1896, Pantling R., 397 (E); North District, Lasha Chhu valley , NE of Thanggu, 18.08.1996, Edinburgh expedition to Northern Sikkim Team , 321 (E) ; West Bengal, Darjeeling, Sandrekpho, 3650 m, 07.1881, Gamble J. S., 9570 (K) .

Figures

Figure 7. Lateral sepal of Herminium. A H. monorchis B H. chloranthum C H. pygmaeum D H. josephi E H. monophyllum F H. lanceum G H. macrophyllum H H. glossophyllum I H. coeloceras J H. fallax K H. gracile L H. elisabethae M H. himalayanum N H. clavigerum O H. quinquelobum P H. macrophyllum Q H. lanceum R H. biporosum.

Figure 12. Herminium gracile. A Flowering plant B Flower (front view) C Flower (side view) D Ovary with column and lip E Dorsal, lateral sepals, petals (spread) F Section of the ovary G Floral bract.