EPIDESDEE<E.
9. Eria Liudl.
Epiphytes, usually pseiido-biilboiis, the ^Jsewrfo-iKZis often elongated and stem-like.
Flowers never large, rarely briglit-coloiired, often pubescent or tomeatose, in racemes
spikes or heads, or on 1-2-flowerod pedicels. Sepals free, adnata to the long foot of
the column, and with it forming a spur-like or saccate mentum. Lip sessile on the
foot of the column and incumbent. Column short and straight, or long and somewhat
curved. Anther imperfectly 4- or 8-celled. Pollinia 8, pyriforni or broadly obovoid,
attached ia fours by their bases to a grannlar membrane, or the whole occasionally
attached to a single viscus.—Species aboxit 160, all tropical Asiatic.
Flowers glabrous or piibeaoent, not woolly;—
Flowers subglobose, in dense spikes 1. E. convallarioidet.
Flowers few, i a l a s spikes E. alba.
Flowers woolly e s t e r n a l i y 3, e . fiava.
1. EEIA COSVALLARIOIDES L i n d l . i n W a l l . C a t . 1975.
Pseudo-lulbi tufted, flattened, 7'5 to 17 cm. long, covered when young with large
loose sheaths. Leaves four to six, 10 to 17'5 cm. long, elliptic-lanceolate or cblanceoiate,
acute, eubcoriaceous, many-nerved, not plicate. Spikes produced on the young growths
and proceeding from the axils of the bracts and leaves, cylindric, decnrved, the
peduncles short and naked. Flowers many and densely crowded, subglobose, 7 mm.
in diam., inodorous; Jloral Iraot equalling the sessile pubescent ovary, ovate-lanceolate,
concavo, those at the base of the spike largest. iSepals broadly ovate, obtuse,
the lateral pair very concave. Petals oblanceolate-oblong, spreading, nearly as long as
the sepals, but much narrower. Lip obscurely S-lobed, cuueate, concave, apex subacute,
the disk without lamell®. Column rather slender, with a long much-curved foot!
Pollinia clavate, attached to a large translucent viscus. CapsuU oblong, obtuse, not
winged. Lindl. Gen. and Sp. Orch. 70; in Bot. Reg. J841, t. 62, Misc. 58; in Journ.
Linn. Soc. iii, 53; Reichb. f. in Walp. Ann. vi, 276; Hook. f. Fh Br, Ind. v, 791;
King & Pantl. in Ann, Roy. Bot, Gard. Calc. viii, 118, t. 161. Octomeria
Don. Prod. 31. 0. mivallarioides Wall. MSS. Piaalia alba Herb. Ham. spicata
Dehra Dun, MacJcinnon; Mussoorie range up to 4,000 feet; Garhwal, Duthie
No. 25813; Lansdowne in Brit. Garhwal, Capt. Roherts; Kumaon at 4 000 feet
Strachcy ^ Winterhoitom No. 13; Gori Valley 2-3,000 feet, Duthie No. 5990. Flowers
in August and September. It extends eastwards to Nepal, Sikkim, the Khasia and
Naga Hills ; also in Teuasserim.
The flowers are white or straw-coloured, the lip being tinged with yellow and the eolumu with
red. Sir George King remarks that epecimeus growing at low elevations haTO often more slender
pseudo-bulbs, narrower leaves and laser flower-spikes than those from cooler places.
2. ERIA ALBA L i n d l . G e n . a n d Sp. O r c h . 67.
Fseudo-btilhs about 3 cm. long, crowded, ovoid, tapering at each end, not elongating;
marked (when fresh) with many distinct vertical lines and a few concentric scsrs.
Leaves .3-5, overtopping the flowering spikes, I'a to 2 dm. long and 2 to 2'5 cm. broad
cblanceoiate, acute, strongly neryed, rather rigid. Soape 4.6-flowered, pubescent!
Fhmn swaet.soeiited; floral J,„ct lanoBokte, aomiiiate, sliotlor ilmn the nuboscmt
o™,.y. 10-13 mm. long, ovatejauocolato, 3.5.nerved, F.tai „ IMe
ehorter than dorsal sepal lanoeoklo, aoafe, S-nervod. Lij, oblo,„, " r i f t a
broa Bha..ply ca,.vea c aw; side lobes poinliog „„„.„d, t i n ^ d .MTSLp
«-ple; mdlobe „.fcoukr apicnla.e, yellow; disk with usually two , L k obtuse ,¡<1,1
between the s,do lobes and a central one extending along the ron.h midlohe.
s ovt about 2 ^aa. „ l e n g t h , ilcnlun rounded, somewhat curved and spur-like.
ela.a 0, a.taohod to a single small ™c„s. Caf^a.. about 2 cm. long, L e a r - o h l o i and
tapenng to the base Lindl." in J„„r„. Linn. Soc. iii, .53, B; I^yle III. Him^ Bot
Hook. f. Ic. PI. t. ISlo; Fl. Br. Ind. v, 795. O,iomen. alU Wall. MSS.
Plentiful along the outer range, of Garhwal and Kumaon at elevations between
.3 000 and 7,000 feet; E.l,j„„tk, Eo,jU, ^ To • found
L . X o t t r ^ i t i t d . ' ' " " "
« l i L C - j X l ^ ' ' ' ' ' "" -- "f column;
3. EEIA PLATA L i n d l , in W a l l , C a t . 197S ( i n p a r t ).
b : : : p / n . s ' t i j ' - d - T c ^ — i - " f r-tC
larger, triangular, spreading, ftfefe than tl 1 1
the column, narrowly oblong, taperfal t . " ,,
side lobes narrow, with truncate a, eo, , b ^ f ^-lobed;
i ^ - i r t i i r t H H r i «
Sp. Orch. 05; in Journ l I s - .i"";' Go". =nd
i S : r H - - —