Herminium gracile

Herminium gracile King & Pantl.

Herminium gracile is a small herbaceous orchid in the Orchidaceae family, native to regions in China, the East Himalaya, Nepal, Qinghai, and Tibet. It was first described in 1896 by King & Pantl. The plant reaches up to 15 cm in height and features a globose tuber, a single leaf at the base, and an inflorescence bearing 3 to 20 small, yellowish green or green flowers. The flowers are 1.5–2 mm in diameter with a hooded dorsal sepal, deflexed lateral sepals, and an oblong-lingulate lip with two basal concavities and a longitudinal callus ridge. The column is approximately 1 mm tall, with a broadly triangular rostellum and divergent anther locules. The fruit is fusiform and about 5 mm long.

Description

Herminium gracile is a small terrestrial orchid with a tuber measuring 4–6 x 3–5 mm. The plant has a single, narrowly ovate-elliptic to oblong-spathulate leaf, 0.7–6.5 cm long and 0.4–1.0 cm wide, with a short petiole and sheathing base. The inflorescence is 7–10 cm tall, with a rachis of 0.7–4 cm and scale-like floral bracts. The flowers are small, yellowish green or green, with a pedicel and ovary that are fusiform and slightly beaked. The dorsal sepal is broadly oblong-ovate, concave, and obtuse at the apex, while the lateral sepals are deflexed and obliquely elliptic-oblong. The petals are oblong-elliptic to obliquely ovate, and the lip is entire, oblong-lingulate, with two basal concavities and a longitudinal callus ridge. The column is approximately 1 mm tall, with a broadly triangular rostellum, divergent anther locules, and ovoid pollinia. The fruit is fusiform and about 5 mm in length.