Roscoea wardii Cowley

Plants 14--30 cm tall. Bladeless leaves 3 or 4, with pink veins. Normal leaves 2(or 3); ligule 1--2 mm; leaf blade abaxially glaucous, elliptic, 7--8 × 1.7--4.5 cm, sparsely scaly-hairy on both surfaces, margin hyaline, minutely papillose, apex acute to acuminate. Inflorescence enclosed by or very shortly exserted from leaf sheaths; peduncle smooth; bracts pale, 3.5--5 cm, apex obtuse, basal 2 initially fused, splitting when second flower opens. Flowers deep purple. Calyx 3.3--4.5 cm, apex 2-lobed; lobes rounded at apex. Corolla tube usually exserted from calyx at anthesis, 4--8 cm; central lobe obovate or broadly elliptic, 2--3.2 × 1.3--2.5 cm; lateral lobes oblong to linear-oblong, 1.7--3.4 cm. Lateral staminodes elliptic, 1.6--2 cm; claw short. Labellum reflexed, obovate, 2.2--4.5 × 1.6--4.5 cm including 8--10 mm long claw, deeply lobed; lobes with 3 white, raised stripes at base, apex emarginate. Anther white, locules 6--9 mm; connective spur 5--8 mm. Ovary 1--1.2 cm. Style purple; stigma white. Capsule ca. 3 × 1 cm. Seeds ellipsoid to 3-angled. Fl. Jun--Aug.

Xizang, Yunnan [India, Myanmar].

Scrub, meadows, open grassy places; 2400--3500 m.

Roscoea blanda K. Schumann var. pumila Handel-Mazzetti.