Typevarietypublished by RolfeinBulletinof Miscellaneous Information from Kew 1896: 196, 1896.
         Calanthe arcuata var. brevifolia published by Tsi in Acta Phytotaxonomica Sinica 19 (11): 508-510, 1981

        Tsi distinguished Calanthe arcuata var. brevifolia from the type variety by its shorter and less acute lobes of the lip. The variety name brevifolia also points to the shorter leaves. Otherwise this variety, which is scattered distributed in Northern Sichuan, where it grows in open pine forests around 2200 m altitude, is similar to the type variety. In Huanglong this small calanthe is only known from a single small population in dense shrub at an altitude of 1850 m. C. arcuata var. brevifolia is a small plant with a height of 15 to 30 cm, but flowers of about 3 cm diameter.
         Flowering: July

        我国兰科植物分类学者吉占和教授根据叶较短，唇瓣分裂不明显，中裂片较短，顶端较钝等形态特征将该变种与原变种弧距虾脊兰区分开来。该变种的变种名称brevifolia也是叶子较短的意思。与原变种相似，短叶虾脊兰主要分布于四川省北部，在海拔2200米左右的开阔松林中生长。

        短叶虾脊兰在黄龙只发现了一个很小的种群，分布在海拔1850米的密灌丛中。与其他虾脊兰植物相比， 短叶虾脊兰算相当矮小的种类，高仅有20-30厘米，花直径在3厘米左右。

        花期：7月。