Rhynchostylis retusa
| Rhynchostylis retusa | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Orchidaceae |
| Subfamily: | Epidendroideae |
| Tribe: | Vandeae |
| Subtribe: | Aeridinae |
| Genus: | Rhynchostylis |
| Species: | R. retusa |
| Binomial name | |
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Rhynchostylis retusa |
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| Synonyms | |
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Rhynchostylis retusa (also called Foxtail Orchid) is an exotic blooming orchid, belonging to the Vanda alliance. The inflorescence is a pendant raceme, consisting of more than 100 pink-spotted white flowers. The plant has a short, stout, creeping stem carrying up to 12, curved, fleshy, deeply channeled, keeled, retuse apically leaves and blooms on an axillary pendant to 60 cm (24 in) long, racemose, densely flowered, cylindrical inflorescence that occurs in the winter and early spring. It is generally famous for its use as an hair-ornament worn by Assamese women during folk dance Bihu on the onset of Spring
The plant is found in semi-deciduous and deciduous dry lowland forests woodlands at elevations from sea level to 1,200 m (3,900 ft), and can be found in Bangladesh, Benin, Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.
In India, the plant is most common in North-East, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh. In Andhra Pradesh, the plant is called by Telugu name Chintaranamu. Due to bio-piracy, the plant is on the verge of extinction in India. Rhychostylis retusa is recognized as the state flower of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam in India as well the Uva Province of Sri Lanka.
The plant requires regular watering and applications of fertilizer throughout the year, although it will die if the leaves are wet frequently. It prefers indirect lighting. Flowering usually occurs in late spring.
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Wikipedia