Almost as rare as hen’s teeth and without doubt one of the Holy Grails of Pleione cultivation. Being known only from a relatively small area of the Ganesh Himal, Nepal, this species is highly vulnerable to habitat loss and deforestation. Originally discovered in 1962 by botanist Adam Stainton who collected it in poor weather conditions in the belief that it was merely a pinkish form of the more common Himalayan Pln. humilis. It seems the collected material was passed to the BM (or perhaps more likely Kew Gardens?) where further research was not carried for another 20 years. The flowers of this rarity are a blushed pale mauvish pink with veins of a deeper shade, the lip has six entire lamellae with deeper spotting in between and a pronounced patch of brownish rose-purple at the apex. The latter characteristic is often passed onto first generation crosses – see Santorini ‘RK selection’. The cultivation of Pln. coronaria should only be attempted by an exceptionally skilled grower.