Orchidaceae FAMILY

Habenaria intermedia

Edibility

2/5

Medicinal

3/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Botanical Description

Habenaria intermedia is a perennial orchid growing from a tuberous rootstock with annual stems that can be from 25 - 50cm tall[ 266 Title Flora of China Publication Author Website http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ Publisher Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. Year 1994 ISBN Description An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available. ]. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and medicine. Tthe tubers are also harvested in quantity and traded for medicinal use, especially as an ingredient in the popular herbal formula 'Chyavanprash' In parts of the Himalayas, including Himachal Pradesh, the harvesting of plants from the wild, including this species, for medicinal use is far in excess of the plant's ability to regenerate and many of the species are becoming rare[ 1308 Title Distribution Pattern, Survival Threats and Conservation of 'Astavarga' Orchids in Himachal Pradesh, Northwest Himala Publication Plant Archives Vol. 12 No. 1, 2012 pp. 165-168 Author Ravi Kant; Jagdeep Verma; and Kranti Thakur Publisher Year 2012 ISBN 0972-5210 Description ].

Habitat & Origin

Origintemperate

Native RangeE. Asia - Himalayas of Pakistan, India, Nepal, China (Tibet)

HabitatOpen grassland; at elevations from 2,000 - 3,300 metres[ 272 Title Plants and People of Nepal Publication Author Manandhar. N. P. Publisher Timber Press. Oregon. Year 2002 ISBN 0-88192-527-6 Description Excellent book, covering over 1,500 species of useful plants from Nepal together with information on the geography and peoples of Nepal. Good descriptions of the plants with terse notes on their uses. ]. Moist temperate forest, especially of Quercus species, Rhododendron arboreum and Myrica esculenta, preferring open grassland and exposed areas[ 1306 Title Rare and Endangered Medicinal Orchids of Asthavarga Group in Attaranchal - Habenaria intermedia (Virdhii) and Habena Publication MFP News, Vol XII, No. 4; 2002 Author Manmohan Jagatram Dobriyal Publisher Year 2002 ISBN Description ].