What is "lecanorchis"

Lechanorchis is a genus of orchids (family Orchidaceae) belonging to the subfamily Vanilloideae.

The scientific name is derived from the Greek words lekane (basin) and orchis (orchid).

They occur in mountain forest of the Himalayas, China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, and New Guinea at altitudes between 300 – 1500 m.

They are terrestrial, leafless myco-heterotrophs (formerly called saprophytes). They produce numerous, long, thick, horizontal roots under a short rhizome. The erect, dark, branched or unbranched stems are thin and brittle. They bear few to many dull brown, purple, yellow or green flowers with a somewhat brighter lip. The lip is about of equal length to the sepals and is covered with dense, yellow hair.

Characteristic for this species is:

• the presence of a calyculus, a cup-like structure formed from a group of small bracts.
• the erect gynostemium (the fused stamen and pistil) is elongate.