Nervilia jacksoniae

Nervilia jacksoniae is a listed plant occurring only in the Marianas Islands in shady areas with leaf litter. It is a terrestrial orchid. It is unusual in that it goes dormant for most of the year with only a small tuber underground. The first part of the plant to reappear is a small flower about 4-7cm tall. The flower itself is <1cm across with green tepals and a fringed white lip and green hairs on the mid-lobe. Unfortunately again this year we missed the flower emergence. We did find a few pods that already opened and released seed. 

After the flower dies away, the leaves emerge. The kidney-shaped leaves are small, only about 5 x 3 cm. Petioles grow to 2 cm.