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Blue orchid

Vanda coerulea

Also called Blue Vanda

Blue orchid
Photo: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0
Family
Orchidaceae (Orchid family)
Grows as
Orchid
Native range
Arunachal Pradesh to China (S. Yunnan) and Indo-China
Climate
wet tropical

About

Vanda coerulea, commonly known as blue orchid, blue vanda or autumn lady's tresses, is a species of orchid found in Northeast India with its range extending to China (southern Yunnan). It is known as kwaklei in Manipuri and vandaar in Sanskrit. It has bluish purple flowers which are very long-lasting compared to other orchids. The plant bears up to 20 to 30 spikes.

Where it grows

Previously, it was thought to have been found only in the Khasi Hills. Here it seemed was threatened as it was over-collected due to its ornamental nature, and local charcoal production from oak trees on which they usually grow. Therefore it was placed in the CITES Appendix I in the 1970s.

Uses

The flower's juice is used as eye drops against glaucoma, cataract and blindness. Active ingredients of Vanda coerulea may fight against the visible signs of ageing skin.

Other Vanda plants

Vanda miniata · Vanda ampullacea · Vanda bensonii · Vanda christensoniana · Vanda coerulescens · Vanda cristata · Vanda curvifolia · Vanda denisoniana · Vanda dives · Vanda falcata subsp. richardsiana · Samurai Orchid · Vanda flabellata

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Vanda coerulea by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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