''Hemipilia purpureopunctata'' is a terrestrial orchid native to high elevations (2100–3400 m) in the

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

and the eastern

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref>

Taxonomy

The species was first described by Kai Yung Lang in 1978, as ''Habenaria purpureopunctata''. It was placed in the

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

genus ''Hemipiliopsis'' in 2003. On the basis of

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

studies, in 2014, ''Hemipiliopsis'' was subsumed into ''

Hemipilia ''Hemipilia'' is a genus of plants in the family Orchidaceae. It is native to China, the Himalayas and Southeast Asia. Species # '' Hemipilia calophylla'' C.S.P.Parish & Rchb.f. - Yunnan, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam # '' Hemipilia cordifolia'' ...

'', with the species becoming ''Hemipilia purpureopunctata''.

References

Flora of Tibet Flora of East Himalaya Orchids of China Orchids of India purpureopunctata Plants described in 1978 {{Orchidoideae-stub