Calanthe clavata - Short-Spurred Calanthe

Short-Spurred Calanthe is a medium to large sized, warm to cool growing terrestrial orchid with small pseudobulbs enveloped by leaf sheaths. The plants carry 2 to 3, narrowly elliptic, stalked base leaves. The plant blooms in the fall on a lateral, usually solitary, erect, up to 40 cm long, raceme-like, successively many flowered inflorescence. Flowers are yellow, flower-stalk and ovary about 1.5 cm, hairless. Dorsal sepal elliptic, about 12 x 5-6 mm, 5-veined, tip pointed; lateral sepals oblong, about 12 x 4-5 mm, 5-veined. Petals are obovate-elliptic to elliptic, about 10 x 5 mm, lip adnate to entire length of column wings, 6-8 × 4-5 mm, 3-lobed; lateral lobes erect, 2-3 mm, about 7 mm across their tips; mid-lobe round, about 4 x 5-5.5 mm, tip flat and notched; spur straight, club-shaped, about 9 × 3.5 mm. Column about 7 mm, thick, dilated at tip. Short-Spurred Calanthe is found in NE India, Myanmar, N Thailand, N Vietnam and China, at altitudes of 800-1300 m.