Queen of Khandala (Pecteilis gigantia) Waghchora (marathi). Largest, most beautiful and fragrant ground orchid in Maharashtra.

A tall growing orchid native to India and SE Asia - it can grow 3 ft high. Placed in various genera: Pecteilis, Habenaria, Orchis, Platanthera. The Butterfly Orchid is so named because of its wing-like sepals and fringed lip lobes. The butterfly orchid is a ground orchid of swamp and grassland with very large white terminal flowers and elongated nectarines. The flowers have a pleasing fragrance. During the monsoon, the twin underground tubers, dormant till then, shoot out a robust green stem of flat leaves, bearing up to six flowers. The outstanding part is the wide spreading lip, which is tri-cleft. While the mid-lobe is simple and tongue-like, the side lobes are widely expanded with ends split up into numerous long comb-like segments.