Erythrodes purpurascens Schltr. in K.Schum. & Lauterb., Nachtr. Fl. Deutsch. Schutzgeb. Südsee (1905) 88
Type: Schlechter 14616 (holo B, lost)
Roots terete, villose. Stems erect, 20 cm long, leafy in basal third. Leaves petiolate; petiole 1 cm long, at the base much widened into a sheath; blade erect-patent, obliquely ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 3-5 by 1-1.7 cm, apex acuminate. Inflorescence racemose; rachis 7 cm long, rather laxely several-flowered. Floral bracts lanceolate, about as long as the ovary, apex acuminate, minutely pubescent. Ovary cylindric, sessile, shortly pubescent. Flowers resupinated, c. 0.8 cm across. Dorsal sepal oblong, 0.4 cm long, concave, apex obtuse. Lateral sepals somewhat obliquely oblong, 0.4 cm long, a little wider than the dorsal sepal, apex narrowly obtuse. Petals along the interior margin cohering with the dorsal sepal, from a linear base obliquely widened in apical half, c. 0.6 cm long, apex obtuse. Lip oblong, concave, constricted below the mid-lobe, 0.4 cm long, spurred, inside sparsely covered with glands or warts, mid-lobe broadly ovate, acuminate; spur slightly compressed in front, 0.2 cm long, obtuse, bilobed. Column erect, rostellum erect, long. Anther at the base cordate, apex rostrate-acuminate. Pollinia clavate; viscidium minute. (After Schlechter, 1905).
Colours: Leaves tinged purple. Flower brownish.
Habitat: Terrestrial among leaf-litter in lowland rain forest. Altitude 40 m.
Flowering time in the wild: May.
Distribution: New Guinea, Samoa, ?Fiji, ?Tonga.
Distribution in New Guinea: Papua New Guinea. See map: 287-27M.JPG
Cultivation: Warm growing terrestrial, keep in shade.