Aglossorhyncha Schltr.,
in K.Schum. & Lauterb., Nachtr. Fl. Deutsch. Schutzgeb. Südsee (1905) 133 ('Aglossorrhyncha')
Sympodial epiphytic or terrestrial plants. Stem elongated, often branching. Leaves many, sheathing at the base, glabrous, dorso-ventrally flattened, articulate, duplicate, stiff. Inflorescence terminal, very short, carrying a single flower or a pair of flowers. Flowers rather small, not resupinate, golden yellow, green, or yellowish or whitish with the lip dark green. Sepals free. Petals free, fairly similar to the dorsal sepal. Lip without spur, not mobile, strongly concave, clasping the column. Column-foot absent. Pollinia 4, solid-waxy, caudicles present, stipe absent, viscidium absent. Ovary glabrous.
Distribution
Philippines, Moluccas, New Guinea, Palau, Bismarck & Solomon Islands, Fiji. About 12 species; in New Guinea c. 10 species.
Habitat
Epiphytes in hill and montane forest, at higher altitudes also terrestrial in shrubby vegetation.
Notes
A genus of slender, shrub-like plants, similar in habit to Glomera. The flowers are fairly small and arise singly or in pairs from the tips of the branches. The long column and especially the spurless, boat-shaped lip readily distinguish Aglossorhyncha from Glomera. Unlike many species of Glomera the leaf-sheaths of Aglossorhyncha are neither warty nor provided with a fringe of hairs or laciniae. Rarely found in cultivation.