Dendrobium parvilobum Schltr., Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 1 (1912) 609; 21 (1928) t. 205, fig. 772.
Type: Schlechter 19359 (holo B, lost).
Rhizome very short, roots elongated, filiform, flexuose, glabrous. Stems crowded, patent, unbranched, slightly laterally compressed, 25-30 cm by 2.5 mm, very densely many-leaved. Leaf sheaths 0.25 cm, entirely covering the stem. Leaves patent, oblong to oblong-ligulate, 2.5-3.5 by 0.7-1.2 cm, apex oblique, unequally obtusely bilobulate. Inflorescences arising seemingly from the leaf axils, subsessile, 2-flowered; spathe obliquely oblong, obtuse. Pedicel and ovary 1.8 cm long, slender, glabrous. Flowers c. 3 cm across. Dorsal sepal oblong, 1.8 cm long, apex obtuse. Lateral sepals obliquely oblong, widened at the base, 1.8 cm long, apex obtuse; mentum 0.5 cm long, obtuse. Petals obliquely oblong-subspathulate, a little shorter than the sepals, apex obtuse. Lip 3-lobed in basal third, 1.2 by 0.4 cm, cuneate at the base, with a basal keel extending to the base of the midlobe, inner surface of the lateral lobes sparsely papillose-muriculate; lateral lobes small, lanceolate-falcate, interior margin dentate, apex acute; midlobe about 3-4 times as long, obovate-subspathulate, apex subretuse, weakly apiculate. Column short, rather thick, clinandrium 3-lobulate, the lateral lobules truncate, serrulate, the median small, tooth-like; column-foot incurved, 0.5 cm long. Anther rounded-cucullate, in front retuse, glabrous.
(after Schlechter, 1912).
Colours: Flower salmon-yellow.
Habitat: Epiphyte in lowland forest. Altitude 450 m.
Flowering time in the wild: May.
Distribution: New Guinea (endemic).
Distribution in New Guinea: Papua New Guinea (Gomadjidji River).
Map: PARLOMAP.JPG [Dendrobium parvilobum Schltr., distribution map.]
Cultivation: Warm growing epiphyte.