''Chiloschista segawae'' is a species of leafless

epiphytic An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...

or orchid that forms clumps with many radiating, flattened green roots. Up to fifteen, whitish green or yellow flowers are arranged along a pendulous flowering stem. It grows on trees in forest on Taiwan.

Description

''Chiloschista segawae'' is an epiphytic, leafless

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

that forms clumps with many flattened greenish,

photosynthetic Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy that, through cellular respiration, can later be released to fuel the organism's activities. Some of this chemical energy is stored in c ...

roots up to long radiating from inconspicuous stems. Between six and fifteen slightly fleshy, whitish green or yellow

resupinate Resupination is derived from the Latin word ''resupinus'', meaning "bent back with the face upward" or "on the back". "Resupination" is the noun form of the adjective "resupine" which means "being upside-down, supine or facing upward". The word " ...

flowers are arranged along a pendulous flowering stem long. The dorsal sepal is broadly elliptic, long, wide, the lateral sepals are broadly elliptic to egg-shaped, long, wide and the

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s are elliptic, long, wide. The labellum is long with three lobes. The side lobes are erect and the middle lobe is small with a sac-like base. Flowering occurs from April to May.

Taxonomy and naming

This orchid was first formally described in 1934 by

Genkei Masamune was a Japanese botanist. Biography Masamune Genkei worked in Formosa and then, after World War II, Taiwan. He was noted for his comprehensive botanical indexes of Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the wo ...

who gave it the name ''Sarcochilus segawae'' and published the description in ''Transactions, Natural History Society of Formosa''. In 1938, Masamune and

Noriaki Fukuyama was a Japanese botanist and orchidologist. He died in Taiwan During his short life, Dr. Fukuyama described over a hundred new species of orchids from Micronesia, the Ryukyus and Taiwan. Most of the type specimens he collected were housed in his p ...

changed the name to ''Chiloschista segawae''.

Distribution and habitat

''Chiloschista segawae'' grows on the trunks of trees in the forests of southern Taiwan at altitudes of between .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chiloschista Segawae segawae Orchids of Taiwan Plants described in 1934