Liparis schistochila Schltr., Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 3 (1906) 80
Basionym: Liparis pectinifera
Epiphytic erect, glabrous, up to 30 cm high, caespitose. Rhizome short; roots filiform, flexuose, finely villose. Pseudobulbs laterally compressed, obcuneate, narrowed towards the apex, 1-leaved, c. 5 cm long, at the base almost 1 cm wide. Leaf ovate-elliptic, narrowed towards the base, acuminate, 20-24 cm long, in upper half 4-6 cm wide, veined, thin-textured, articulate. Inflorescence terminal, erect, about as long as the leaf or shorter, with a few distant, lanceolate, acuminate peduncle-scales; rachis laxly several-flowered, almost secund. Floral bracts lanceolate, acuminate, shorter than the pedicellate ovary. Flowers erect-patent. Median sepal oblong-lanceolate, subacute, 0.3-0.4 cm long, recurved. Lateral sepals reflexed, ovate-oblong, subacute, as long as the median sepal but a little broader. Petals deflexed, subfalcate-linear, subobtuse, as long as the sepals. Lip at the base subquadrate, ascending, porrect, bilobed, the lobes divergent, oblong-quadrate, pectinate, with an obtuse apiculum in between, blade at the base on either side auriculate-incurved, in the middle with an obtuse callus, lip from the base to the apex of the mid-lobe 0.3 cm long, at the apex (i.e. including the divergent lobes) 0.4 cm wide. Column rather thick almost straight, at the base a little widened, 0.2 cm long. Ovary with pedicel clavate, 0.7 cm long. (After Schlechter, 1905, as Liparis pectinifera Schltr.)
Colours: Flowers greenish.
Habitat: Epiphyte in lower montane forest, growing in moss clumps at the base of trees, also terrestrial; 800 to 1365 m.
Flowering time in the wild: January, May, September, December.
Distribution: Malesia (New Guinea, endemic).
Distribution in New Guinea: Papua New Guinea. See map: 416-424M.JPG.
Cultivation: Intermediate growing epiphyte, requires shaded position.