Dendrobium xanthomeson Schltr., in K.Schum. & Lauterb., Nachtr. Fl. Deutsch. Schutzgeb. Südsee (1905) 168; Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 21 (1923) t. 189, fig. 708.
Type: Schlechter 14535 (holo B, lost).
Rhizome very short, roots elongated, filiform, flexuose, glabrous. Stems crowded, pendulous, slender, fleshy, up to 100 cm by 10 mm, many-leaved. Leaf sheaths entirely covering the stem. Leaves erect-patent, ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, 13-23 by 3.5-6 cm, apex acuminate, papyraceous. Inflorescences lateral from the stems, racemose, short, head-like, 6-10-flowered. Floral bracts lanceolate, the outer ones as long as the flowers, the inner ones shorter, apex acuminate, outside sparsely covered with minute black scale-hairs. Ovary 1.2 cm long, subclavate. Flowers c. 2 cm long, outside sparsely covered with minute black scale-hairs. Dorsal sepal oblong, 1.5 cm long, apex obtuse. Lateral sepals obliquely oblong, much widened at the base, 1.5 cm long, apex obtuse; mentum conical, obtuse. Petals obliquely lanceolate-oblong, 1.5 cm long, apex obtuse. Lip in basal part narrowly cuneate, in apical part suborbicular, 2 cm long, thickened in the middle, in basal part with a reflexed bilobed appendage; margins minutely denticulate, glabrous, margins of apical part finely undulate, apex rounded. Column short, clinandrium 3-lobulate, the lateral lobules short, the median slightly longer; column-foot with a cavity. Anther rounded, in front subtruncate-obtuse, glabrous.
(after Schlechter, 1905).
Colours: Flowers yellowish outside, inside white; lip light yellow in the centre.
Habitat: Epiphyte in hill forest. Altitude 800 m.
Flowering time in the wild: April.
Distribution: New Guinea (endemic).
Distribution in New Guinea: Papua New Guinea (Sandaun Province: Torricelli Mountains).
Cultivation: Intermediate growing epiphyte.