Vanda coerulea Griff. ex Lindl.

 
  • Family : ORCHIDACEAE
    (Orchid Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : ORCHID FAMILY (ऑर्चिड फैमिली)
  • Family (as per The APG System III) : Orchidaceae
  • Synonym(s) : Vanda coerulea f. delicata (Rolfe) Christenson; Vanda coerulea delicata Rolfe; Vanda coerulea var. grandiflora Carrière; Vanda coerulea var. hennisiana Schltr.; Vanda coerulea f. luwangalba Kishor; Vanda coerulea var. peetersiana Cogn.; Vanda coerulea f. rogersii (Rolfe) Christenson; Vanda coerulea var. rogersii Rolfe; Vanda peetersiana (Cogn.) André
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Vanda coerulea Griff. ex Lindl.
  • Common name : Blue Vanda, Autumn lady's tresses orchid
  • Vernacular name :
    • Kwak lei (Manipuri)
    • Lawhlei (Mizo)
    • Vandara, Vandaka (Sanskrit)
  • Habit : Epiphyte
  • Habitat : Epiphytic, up to 1600m
  • Comments / notes : Pink and white forms also occur in nature - the white forms being the most pure white flowers found in the genus.
  • Key identification features : The striking blue flowers of Vanda coerulea are its most recognisable characteristic, with blue pigmentation only seen elsewhere in this genus in V. coerulescens , V. tessellata , and V. testacea .The leaves are leathery and strap-like and attached to prominent leaf sheaths (part of leaf stalk that covers and rises up from the stem). The flowers are around 13 cm across and notable for their small lip (labellum), approximately 2 cm in length, an unusual characteristic for this genus, shared only with the similarly pigmented, closely related, but much smaller flowered, V. coerulescens .The flower spikes of V. coerulea are occasionally branched, and bear more flowers than is usual in this genus (20-30 per plant, on multiple flower spikes). All characteristics plus the species' cold tolerance (due to the elevation of its native habitat) make it highly desirable to orchid hybridisers.
  • Flower, Fruit : July-September
  • Distribution :
    • Sikkim : Sikkim
    • Arunachal Pradesh : Tirap
    • Meghalaya : Meghalaya
    • Assam : Assam
    • Nagaland : Nagaland
    • Mizoram : Mizoram
    • Manipur : Manipur
    • Tripura : Tripura
  • Native : Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand
  • Exotic/Native : Native
  • World Distribution : Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand
  • Literature :
    • Singh S.K., Agrawala D.K., Jalal J.S., Dash S.S, Mao A.A. and Singh P. (2019). Orchids of India - A pictorial guide. Botanical Survey of India, Kolkata. 548 pp.:503
    • H J, Chowdhery, et al. Materials for Flora of Arunachal Pradesh. Volume 3, Botanical Survey of India, 2009. Pg.: 164
  • Read more :
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2024). India Flora Online. http://indiafloraonline-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Vanda coerulea. Downloaded on 7 October 2024.

Field Image(s)

India Distribution

World Distribution

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