Taeniophyllum excavatum J.J.Sm., Bull. Dép. Agric. Indes Néerl. 19 (1908) 36
Type: Versteeg 1445 (holo BO; iso L)
Stem very short, leafless; roots elongate, to 27 by 0.2-0.43 cm. Inflorescence producing several flowers in succession; peduncle thin, muricate, 5-9 cm long; peduncle scales triangular, distant; rachis muricate, 1.3 cm long, internodes 0.15 cm long. Floral bracts in two alternating rows, widely patent, short, triangular, obtuse or subacute, concave, dorsally convex and near the apex slightly keeled. Flowers 0.7 cm wide, 1.2 cm long. Sepals linear-oblong, towards the apex somewhat dilated, apex broadly obtuse and denticulate, concave, dorsally near the apex fleshy-swollen, keeled and conical-verrucose, 3-nerved, outside with minute scale-hairs, 0.45 by 0.15 cm. Lateral sepals strongly keeled. Petals narrowly subspathulate-oblong, slightly oblique, apex broadly obtuse and denticulate, inside concave, near the apex convex-swollen, outside convex, nerves 5, the outer ones indistinct, 0.46 cm long, almost 0.2 cm wide. Lip spurred, 3-lobed; spur pointing backwards, making an acute angle with the ovary, straight, in the basal part narrowed and laterally flattened, above terete, obtuse, 0.6-0.65 cm long; blade between the lateral lobes strongly concave, with a horseshoe-shaped depression, containing the rostellum, inside delimited by papillae, when spread 0.43 by 0.38 cm; lateral lobes horizontal, broad, obliquely rounded, convex, duplicate-crenate; mid-lobe porrect, trapeziform, with rounded corners, apex shortly and broadly strongly convex-bilobulate, with a minute apicule in the sinus, at the base with an acuminate-ovate depression that is saccate-convex below, finely erose, 0.17 by 0.27 cm. Column very short, 0.25 cm long, apex truncate, clinandrium concave; rostellum very long, porrect, ascending, linear, at the base dilated and concave, shortly bifid. Anther hood-shaped, with strongly gibbose-swollen connective, in front 3-lobulate, the beak-like apex elongated, linear, obtuse, clearly longer than the rostellum, to which it is parallel-recurved; pollinia 4, obliquely obovoid; stipe linear, apex shield-like dilated, pellucid, 0.18 cm long; viscidium rounded, thick. Ovary 6-grooved, scaly-puberulous, especially in the grooves, 0.4 cm long. (After Smith, 1909)
Colours: Sepals and petals orange, lip white, underneath in the middle orange-yellow, spur yellow, anther white.
Habitat: Epiphyte in lowland forest; 300 m.
Flowering time in the wild: July, November.
Distribution: Malesia (New Guinea).
Distribution in New Guinea: Papua (Indonesia). See map: 676-68M.JPG.
Cultivation: Warm growing epiphyte.