Plant Name
Scientific Name: Phaius tancarvilleae
Synonyms: Phaius tankarvilleae, P. tankervilleae
Common Names: Nun's-hood Orchid, Chinese Ground Orchid, Nun's Orchid, Twelve Apostles
Plant Characteristics
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Herb/Forb
Hawaii Native Status: Introduced. This naturalized ornamental garden plant is native to parts of tropical and subtropical Asia and Oceania.
Flower Color: Multicolored white, brown, and pink
Height: Flower stalks to 4 1/4 feet (1.3 m) tall
Description: The flowers are clustered on tall, erect, flower stalks arising from the pseudobulbs. The individual flowers are 2 3/4 to 5 inches (7 to 12.7 cm) across, wide open when young and drooping with age, and have a pink-tipped labellum (tubular lip petal) and 5 oblong-lanceolate tepals (3 petal-like sepals and 2 lateral petals) that are white outside and brown inside. The leaf blades are green, plicate (pleated), erect or ascending, elliptic-lanceolate in shape, and up to 47 inches (1.2 m) long. There are 2 to 6 leaves per pseudobulb.
This terrestrial orchid grows in moist soil near the forest edge and along trails in disturbed mesic and wet forests.
Special Characteristics
Fragrant – The flowers are fragrant.
Classification
Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Liliopsida – Monocotyledons
Subclass: Liliidae
Order: Orchidales
Family: Orchidaceae – Orchid family
Genus: Phaius Lour. – nun's-hood orchid
Species: Phaius tancarvilleae (Banks ex L'Hér.) Blume – nun's-hood orchid
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