Published in Kew Bulletin 26 (1): 172. 1971. Basionym is Gymnadenia spathulata Lindley, 1835, published in The Genera and Species of Orchidaceous Plants: 280. 1835A synonym is Galearis spathulata var. wilsonii, (Schlechter) Perner, 2003, in Malayan Orchid Review 37: 105. 2003. Basionym is Orchis spathulata var. wilsonii Schlechter, published in Särtyk ur Meddelanden från Göteborgs Botaniska Trädgård (Acta Horti Gothoburgensis) 1: 132. 1924.Galearis spathulata is distributed from the Himalayas to Southwest China. When Rudolf Schlechter published Orchis spathulata var. wilsonii he stated that the plants collected in Huanglong valley by Harry Smith on July 23, 1922 and the type of the variety, collected by Ernest Henry Wilson in Western Sichuan on June 24, 1908, varied considerably from typical forms from the Himalayas. He described them as larger and taller with slightly larger flowers and a thicker spur. However, all characters lie well within the range of the typical form. While the closely related species G. diantha is very common in Huanglong valley, G. spathulata is a relatively rare plant that prefers denser shade in coniferous mountain forest at 3100-3400 m altitude and grows in deep moss layers of 20-40 cm density, the narrow elongated rhizome growing upwards to keep track with the growing moss. On the Xueshanliang a smaller form grows in bright light on alpine meadows at altitudes around 3600m. The slender plant of 6-14 cm height with one, rarely two leaves, carries 2-6 small flowers 0.8-1cm across.

         Flowering: June-July.

        匙叶匍茎兰分布比较广泛，从喜马拉雅脉到西南地区均有分布。鲁道夫•施勒希特发表匙叶红门兰威尔逊变种Orchis spathulata var. wilsonii时就提到哈里•史密斯1922年7月23日在黄龙沟采集的标本，而该变种的模式标本是亨利•威尔逊1908年6月24日在四川西部所采集的。该变种和产于喜马拉雅脉的典型匙叶匍茎兰类型有明显的差异。鲁道夫•施勒希特认为来自喜马拉雅脉的典型匙叶匍茎兰类型的植株较为高大和粗壮，花也比较大，距比较粗。但这些差异仍然被认为是在典型匙叶匍茎兰类型形态变异范围内。与匙叶匍茎兰在形态上相似的二叶匍茎兰在黄龙十分普遍，而匙叶匍茎兰本身在黄龙却很少见，它喜欢生长在海拔3100-3400米的高针叶林浓荫下的深苔藓层中，根状茎细长顺着苔藓向上生长。雪山梁上的匙叶匍茎兰植株比较小，生长于开阔的高山草甸中，海拔大约是3600米。匙叶匍茎兰植株纤细，高通常为6-14厘米，多为一枚叶片，少两枚，每一花序上有2-6朵小花，花直径0.8-1厘米。

        花期： 六月至七月。