The genus name Spiranthes comes from the Greek words "speira" meaning spiral and "anthos" meaning flower, and refers to the spiral arrangement of flowers. Chinese Lady's-Tresses is an orchid found in the Himalayas and in many countries from Asia to Australia. It is a medium sized, cool to hot growing terrestrial orchid found on roadsides, grassy areas, open forests, at elevations of 100-2000 m. The plant has cylindrical, velvety roots, and a basal rosette of a few oblong-elliptic to linear-lanceshaped, pointed glossy dark green leaves. Flowers are borne on an erect, slender, up to 25 cm long many flowered spike. The spreading flowers twist around in a spiral with 2 to 3 distant, glandular-hairy sheaths and lanceshaped, long-pointed, glandular-hairy floral bracts. Flowers are rose to rose-purple, rarely whitish, fragrant. Sepals are lanceshaped, up to 5 mm long, the dorsal forming a tube with the narrower petals and lip. Flowering: May-September.