Odontochilus poilanei (Gagnep.) Ormerod

Odontochilus poilanei (Gagnep.) Ormerod

Family: Orchidaceae.

Description: A slender, mycoheterotrophic (saprophytic), leafless terrestrial orchid. The entire plant is achlorophyllous (without green parts). The plant typically reaches a height of up to 20 cm. Roots / Rhizome: Plant has a creeping, terete rhizome up to 5 cm long. It is taxonomically described as a holomycotrophic tuberous geophyte. Leaves: is leafless; the stems are covered with scaly, red, overlapping sheaths instead of leaves. Flowers: Numerous flowers (up to 10) are borne on an erect, pubescent rachis (inflorescence) up to 7 cm long. Flowers are non-resupinate, up to 1.5 cm wide and 1.5 cm long. The sepals and ovary are typically red. Labellum (lip) is prominently colored in shades of yellow and red, Y- or T-shaped, and is 2-lobed with an irregularly laciniate (deeply or irregularly toothed) margin.

Distribution (World & India): Global: Widespread across Asia, including Bhutan, China, Myanmar, Nepal, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. India: Found in the Northeast states, specifically reported from Arunachal Pradesh (East Kameng district). Altitude range: Found in subtropical moist broadleaved evergreen forests at elevations between 1200–1600 m. Prefers shaded habitats, often found under the canopy of bamboos and other broadleaved trees.

IUCN Status / Conservation: IUCN Status: Assessed as Data Deficient (DD) based on IUCN (2019) guidelines globally, as insufficient information is available from the major part of its distribution range (Tiwari et al. 2021). Regionally: The species has been assessed as Critically Endangered (CR) in Taiwan. Conservation Notes: As a mycoheterotrophic orchid, it is heavily dependent on a specific mycorrhizal fungus for nutrition, making it very habitat-specific and limited. The main threat is habitat loss. It is noted that this species does not face the same poaching threats as many "jewel orchids".

Medicinal Properties & Traditional Uses (in India): Specific traditional uses for Odontochilus poilanei were not reported in the available source material or external search results. Orchids in the subtribe Goodyerinae (to which Odontochilus belongs) are generally used in traditional medicine, but documentation for this rare, leafless species is lacking.

Chemical Constituents: Limited modern phytochemical analysis is available for this species.

Dose/caution: No dosage or caution information is available for this species. Uses in India.

Status & Conservation: The primary conservation concern stems from its mycoheterotrophic habit, which ties it tightly to a specific, unknown mycorrhizal partner and habitat. While its overall global distribution is wide, habitat destruction and degradation pose the main threat. Its global conservation status is Data Deficient (DD) due to insufficient data across its range.

Tiwari, U.L., A. Bhattacharjee, H.Z. Tian, T. Yukawa & P. Kumar. 2021. Chamaegastrodia poilanei – an interesting mycoheterotrophic orchid from India. Rheedea 31(3): 191–196. https://dx.doi.org/10.22244/rheedea.2021.31.03.09.