Phreatia pumilio Schltr., Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 1 (1913) 938
Type: Schlechter 19873 (holo B, lost)
Epiphytic, very small, 2.5-4 cm high. Rhizome short, decumbent; roots filiform, glabrous. Pseudobulbs 0.5-1 cm apart, subglobose, c. 0.3 cm diam., 1-leaved. Leaf erect, oblanceolate-ligulate, subobtuse, gradually somewhat narrowed towards the base, 1.3-2.5 cm long, near the middle 0.3-0.6 cm wide. Inflorescence densely several-flowered, almost secund, to 4 cm high; peduncle with a few small scales, slender, almost as long as the leaf. Floral bracts lanceolate, acuminate, as long as the ovary. Flowers minute, glabrous. Sepals broadly ovate, subobtuse, c. 0.1 cm long. Lateral sepals oblique, towards the base in front somewhat dilated. Petals obliquely ovate, obtuse, a little shorter than the sepals. Lip about as long as the sepals; claw short, semi-elliptic, concave; blade suborbicular, apiculate. Column short; rostellum triangular, overtopping the clinandrium. Ovary shortly pedicellate, clavate, c. 0.18 cm long. (After Schlechter, 1911-1914)
Colours: Flowers white.
Habitat: Epiphyte in lower montane forest; 1200 m.
Flowering time in the wild: June.
Distribution: Malesia (New Guinea).
Distribution in New Guinea: Papua New Guinea. See map: 549-205M.JPG.
Cultivation: Intermediate growing epiphyte.