Trichotosia Blume, Bijdr.: 342. (1825).
By: Devendra M. Bajracharya
Taxon Description
Plants perennial epiphytic or rarely terrestrial herbs. Rhizomes greyish white tufted. Stems long or short, leafy throughout except at base, usually throughout with reddish brown, rarely white, hispid hairs, sometimes hairs restricted to leaf sheaths and inflorescences. Leaves 2–5, tufted, petiolate, elliptic or obovate-elliptic, obtuse, pubescent. Inflorescences lateral, from node, piercing leaf sheath, short and few flowered, peduncle short, hairy; pedicellate-ovary hispid. Flowers resupinate, not opening widely, pale-green suffused with yellow, small to medium-sized, pubescent. Sepals red hairy abaxially, lateral sepals adnate to column foot forming a mentum. Petal free, blunt. Lip entire to obscurely 3-lobed; disk with or without keels, sometimes papillose. Column with a foot. Capsule obovoid-cylindric.
Taxon Statistics
Worldwide about 50 species: distributed in Nepal, E. Himalaya, SE Asia, China, and S. Asia. One species in Nepal
1. Trichotosia dasyphylla (C.S.P. Parish & Rchb.f.) Kraenzl, Pflanzenr (Engler) Orch.-Dendrob. pas: 138. (1911).
Eria dasyphylla C.S.P. Parish & Rchb. f., Tran Linn. Soc. London 30: 147 (1874); Pinalia dasyphylla (CS.P. Parish & H. G. Rchb. f.) Kuntze
Plants epiphytic, 2–3 cm tall. Rhizomes grayish white hirsute, tufted. Stem 15–30 cm, much branched, pubescent. Leaves 2–5, tufted, elliptic or obovate-elliptic, 10–15 × 4–6 mm, apex obtuse, pubescent, petioles 3–4 cm. Inflorescence 1- or 2-flowered, axillary, peduncle 5–10 mm, with 2 trumpet-shaped basal sheaths. Floral bracts lanceolate, 2–5 mm, acuminate, persistent. Flowers 1–2 cm across, flushed with pale yellow or green. Pedicel and ovary 6–7 mm, hispid. Sepals acute, pubescent outside. Dorsal sepal elliptic-lanceolate, 3–4 × 1–2 mm. Lateral sepals obliquely triangular, 5–6 × ca. 4 mm, mentum broadly obtuse, ca. 4 × 2 mm. Lip obscurely 3-lobed, wedge-shaped, obovate-oblong, 5–6 × ca. 3 mm, greenish-yellow, thickened, ciliate, subtruncate, with sub-oblong calli on both sides, mid-lobe deflexed, broad, emarginate, margin minutely erose. Column 1.5–2 mm. Capsule obovoid-cylindric, 5–6 mm.
Distribution: Nepal, India, China, SE Asia.
Altitudinal range: 900–1600 m.
Ecology: Epiphytic on tree trunks in subtropical forest.
Flowering: June–September.