Eulophia andamanensis is an orchid endemic to the Andaman

Andaman Islands

The Andaman Islands are a group of Indian Ocean archipelagic islands in the Bay of Bengal between India to the west, and Burma , to the north and east...

 and Nicobar

Nicobar

Nicobar can refer to:* Nicobar Islands**Car Nicobar**Great Nicobar Island**Little Nicobar* Nicobar district-Animals:*Nicobar Shrew*Nicobar Treeshrew*Nicobar long-tailed macaque*Nicobar Flying Fox* Nicobar Pigeon* Nicobar Megapode...

 group of Islands (off the east coast of India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 between 6°45′N 93°12′E and 13°41′N 93°57′E).

The genus Eulophia

Eulophia

The genus Eulophia, which also constitutes the monogeneric alliance Eulophia, includes 210 species of orchids. It was first described by John Lindley in 1821. The name "Eulophia" was derived from the Greek words "eu" and "lophos" , referring to the crested ridges of the labellum in most species...

 belongs to the subfamily Epidendroideae

Epidendroideae

In plant systematics Epidendroideae is a subfamily of the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Epidendroideae is larger than all the other orchid subfamilies together, comprising more than 15,000 species in 576 genera. Most Epidendroid orchids are tropical epiphytes, typically with pseudobulbs...

, tribe Cymbidieae

Cymbidieae

The Cymbidieae is a tribe within the family of orchids....

, and subtribe Cyrtopodiinae. Eulophia andamanensis is found growing wild in the Little Andaman Islands, where the temperature ranges between 23–30 °C and the annual average rainfall is 3473 mm. Tropical evergreen forest floors of Andamans is the habitat of this orchid, and it is scarcely distributed.

The growth habit is sympodial. The stem at the base is bulbous, with thick roots. The leaves

Leaf

A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....

 are short during flowering, linear lanceolate. The bracts are shorter than the pedicel

Pedicel (botany)

A pedicel is a stem that attaches single flowers to the main stem of the inflorescence. It is the branches or stalks that hold each flower in an inflorescence that contains more than one flower....

, the sepal

Sepal

A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...

s 2 cm long, the lip shorter than the sepals. The sepals are linear lanceolate, 3–5 nerved, acuminate; both the sepals and petals are pale green in colour, the lip green at the base and white at the center with maroon horizontal striations. The flowering period is from November to March, with the florets borne on long spikes (0.6–1.3 m long), and last for about 50 days.

Description

Plant vigour: Slow

Stem: Erect

Pseudobulb: Present, elongated and Sheathed

Leaf arrangement: Alternate

Leaf shape: Lanceolate

Leaf Colour: Dark Green

Leaf Margin: Entire

Leaf Length: 46 cm

Leaf Width: 5.25 cm

Leaf venation: Parallel venation midrib and vein

Vein

In the circulatory system, veins are blood vessels that carry blood towards the heart. Most veins carry deoxygenated blood from the tissues back to the heart; exceptions are the pulmonary and umbilical veins, both of which carry oxygenated blood to the heart...

s prominent on under surface of leaf

Leaf

A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....

Leaf number: 6–8

Inflorescence type: Raceme

Spike emergence: From the base of the pseudobulb

Number of spikes/plant: 2–4

Flower arrangement: Alternate

Flower: Bractate

Number of florets/spike: 18–45

Flower size: Small (6.65 cm across the axes)

Shape of the lip: Frizzled , ridged along the center

Days for all florets to open: 25

Pod size: Medium

Seeds: Numerous