Slender inflorescence is 4-12" (10-30 cm) long with 15-50 white flowers. Flowers are .2" (5-6 mm) across.
Fragrance:
Faint
Range:
Himalaya to Indo-China
Habitat:
Rock faces and cliff edges in cool mixed forests; 1500-7545ft (457-2300m)
Description:
This miniature to medium sized orchid grows in forests and on cliffs across a large range.
Bloom Time (Northern Hemisphere):
March to December; peaks from June to July
Ethnobotanical Uses:
In NW India, padshah salep (a type of flour) was made from this orchid.
Medicinal / Pharmaceutical:
In Malabar, the crushed roots were put on the head of a person with fever. The fruit was used for chronic and malignant ulcers, to stop earache and headache, and induce sleep. The whole plant was applied to the soles of the feet to cure intermittent fevers, as a poultice to the loins to assist in childbirth, and to promote menses and urine. In Nepal, juice from the plant has been used to treat navel, abdominal, and rheumatic pain. Powder is used to induce sleep.
