Published in Malayan Orchid Review 37: 105. 2003. Basionym is Orchis roborowskii Maximowicz, 1886, published in Mélangés Biologiques tires du Bulletin de L’Académie Impériale des Sciences de St. Petersbourg 12(4): 547. 1886. A synonym is Aorchis roborowskii (Maximowicz) Seidenfaden in Nordic Journal of Botany 2(1): 9. 1982.

         Galearis roborowskii has a distinctive three-lobed lip, a wide basal lip-opening, a long spur and wide spreading sepals, all typical for a Ponerorchis species. It is, however, morphologically fully embedded in the genus Galearis by the presence of a rhizome, instead of a tuber, and the single basal leaf. The flower characters most likely reflect a convergent development based on exploiting a similar pollinator. G. roborowskii is rather common in Huanglong in a variety of habitats from alpine meadows to open shrub at altitudes between 2900-3800 m. However, it nowhere forms big colonies but occurs scattered. As in the probably conspecific Aceratorchis tschiliensis Schlechter, most older flowers of G. roborowskii have the pollinia bowed downwards and often attached to the stigma while still connected to the viscidium and covered by the bursicle, i.e. G. roborowskii is at least in part regularly self-pollinating. Another character shared with Aceratorchis tschiliensis is the dark brown spotting on the single leaf of many plants. G. roborowskii is 6-12 cm high and the usually 2-4 (rarely up to 6) flowers have a diameter of 1-1.5 cm,

         Flowering: June-July.

        北方匍茎兰唇瓣三裂， 基部张开， 距长， 萼片宽平展。这些特征与典型的红门兰属植物特征相似。但根据北方匍茎兰具有根状茎， 而不是块茎， 叶片一枚， 基生等特征来看完全可以将它归到匍匐兰属中。北方匍茎兰与红门兰属植物花部特征的相似性正好反映它们利用同一传粉者的趋同性。在黄龙， 北方匍茎兰分布非常广泛， 但通常形成比较小的居群， 分布比较零散。主要生长于高ft 草甸以及开阔灌丛中，海拔为2900-3800米。北方匍茎兰和无距兰也有相似之处， 主要表现为： 与无距兰一样， 很多北方匍茎兰发育成熟花的花粉块， 当其仍与粘盘相连并被粘囊覆盖时便向下弯曲并与柱头接触， 这说明了北方匍茎兰至少有一部分是通过自花授粉的； 此外， 这两种兰花的大多数植株都只有一枚叶片且叶片上布有深褐色斑点。北方匍茎兰植株高通常为6-12厘米，每一花序上有2-4朵花（很少有6朵的） ，花直径为1-1.5厘米。

        花期：6月至7月。