Hymenorchis foliosa Schltr., Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 1 (1913) 998
Type: Schlechter 18802 (holo B, lost)
Epiphyte, patent, 10-12 cm long; roots filiform, glabrous; stem elongated, densely leafy, 0.2 cm diameter; leaves erect-patent, oblong, obtuse, densely serrate, slightly carnose, 1.7-3 cm long, in the middle 0.5-1 cm wide; Inflorescence short, subumbelliform, 4-7-flowered, peduncle short; bracts elliptic, obtuse, much shorter than the ovary. Flowers glabrous, very thin-textured. Sepals broadly elliptic, broadly obtuse, margins denticulate, 0.7 cm long. Lateral sepals oblique. Petals similar to and about as large as the sepals. Lip suborbicular, obtuse, 0.18 cm long and wide, spur cylindrical, oblongoid, obtuse, 0.6 cm long. Column short, at the base narrowed, rostellum suberect. Anther quadrate-cucullate, shortly acuminate; pollinia globose, stipe 4-5 times longer than the pollinia, dilated to the base, viscidium large, oblong. Ovary 3-ribbed, the ribs serrulate, 1.3 cm long. (After Schlechter, 1911-1914)
Colours: Flower whitish green, blade of lip grass-green.
Habitat: Epiphyte in upper montane forest. Altitude 2200-2600 m.
Flowering time in the wild: March.
Distribution: Malesia (New Guinea, endemic).
Distribution in New Guinea: Papua New Guinea. See map: 375-2M.JPG
Cultivation: Cool growing epiphyte.