Smithsonian Gardens

Common name: The Different Colored Calanthe

Family: Orchidaceae subfam. Epidendroideae (Orchid)

Distribution: S China, S Korea, Japan to Nansei-shoto

Habitat: Moist, dense, evergreen forests; 170-1500m

Life form: Terrestrial

Bloom Time (northern hemisphere): February to April; peaks in March

Bloom characteristics: Erect inflorescence is 7-12" long with 10-15 brown and white flowers. Flowers are .8" across.

Fragrance: Mushroom

Pollination syndrome: Bee (Eucera nipponensis, Osmia cornifrons, Apis cerana japonica)

Foliage characteristics: Semi-evergreen

Description: This orchid has a color variable flower with a lip that is typically white, but petals that range from brown, to pink, to green in color. It also has a funny name in its native Japan due to the shape of its subterranean pseudobulb – shrimp root. This Calanthe grows in the same environments as Calanthe sieboldii, with which it forms the natural hybrid C. x bicolor. Unfortunately, all these orchids are hard to find in the wild. They have been collected to near extinction for sale at roadside markets, or online by vendors advertising wild orchids. This desire for wild orchids is confusing, as beautiful orchids can be grown in greenhouses, whereas wild orchids often have damaged flowers from a hard life surviving outdoors.

Comments: Calanthe discolor