Location: near Khaliya top road.
Altitude: approx.6700-7000 feet.
Common name (locally): Salang-mishri.
Synonyms:
Satyrium neilgherrensis Fyson;
Satyrium albiflorum a. Rich.;
Satyrium henryi Schltr.;
Satyrium nepalense f. albiflorum (a. Rich.) Tuyama;
Satyrium nepalense Var. nepalense;
Satyrium pallidum a. Rich.;
Satyrium perrottetianum a. Rich.; Satyrium wightianum Lindl
Key to varieties:
Leaves ovate-lanceolate; flowers mostly pink; spurs longer than ovary ------- var. nepalense
Leaves oblong-lanceolate; flowers usually white, rarely pink; spurs smaller than ovary ------- var.ciliatum
Biome: Temperate
Type: Herb, Terrestrial Orchid.
Habitat (IMG_1190): Seen growing on mountain slope.
Inflorescence (IMG_1194): Close up view of the erect, terminal spike, >20 flowered.
Flower: small and pinkish white, with a hood-like lip and two spurs, one on each side of the ovary. In Western ghats, the flowers are deeper pink as compared to this post.
Leaves: ovate-lance, sheathed at base and smaller towards the top.
Bracts: reddish ovate-lanceolate.
Fruit: Fruiting (single fruit) is seen at the bottom of the spike inflorescence as a brown, fusiform capsule.
Underground tubers produce new plants when the rainy season begins to recede.
Medicinal use: powdered tubers (rhizome) used as an energizing tonic / aphrodisiac.
Reference:
1. Floral Gallery of Himalayan Valley of Flowers (2011)& Adjacent Areas, K.R. Keshava Murthy.
3. Notes on a threatened Orchid (Satyrium Sw.) in Sikkim Himalaya A.K. Sahoo & A.A. Ansari Botanical Survey of India, Sikkim Himalayan Circle, Gangtok.
Different views of the Panchchuli peaks from my homestay in Sarmoli (IMG_9802, IMG_6603 & IMG_0678).
Regards,
Samir Mehta