Diagnostic ³

"Epiphytes, to 40 cm tall; stems stout, woody. Leaves to 30 x 2 cm, lorate, obliquely bilobed at apex with a mucro in between, lobules rounded. Flowers violet pink, closely packed in 30-40 cm long, stout, compact, pendulous axillary raceme; sepals and petals similar; dorsal sepal ovate or ovate-oblong, obtuse; lateral sepals 8 x 7 mm, obliquely ovate, subacute; petals 6 x 3 mm, oblong-ovate, obtuse; lip entire, oblong, pink; clawed; claw deflexed, deeply inflexed, cuneiform; disc 2-lobed; spur 5 mm long, laterally compressed, tip emarginate; puberulus inside; column short; foot very short; pollinia 2, globose, with long caudicle."

Summary ⁴

Rhynchostylis retusa (also called Foxtail Orchid) is an exotic blooming orchid, belonging to the Vanda alliance. The orchid has a bunch consisting of more than 100 pink-spotted white flowers. They have stout, repent, short 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.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) C. E. Timothy Paine, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/cetp/4512223648/
2. (c) 澎湖小雲雀, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/abelard1005/7502051458/
3. (c) India Biodiversity Portal, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://eol.org/data_objects/26334611
4. (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhynchostylis_retusa

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