Cadetia triquetra (Ridl.) Schltr., Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 1 (1912) 424.
Basionym: Dendrobium triquetrum.
Rhizome very short. Stems crowded, erect, slender, narrowing to the base, sharply 4-winged, 5-7.5 cm by 5 mm, 1-leaved. Leaves erect, lanceolate to oblong, 6-9 by 1.2-2.5 cm, coriaceous, apex acute. Inflorescences terminal from the leaf axil, 1-flowered, spathe 1.2 cm long. Pedicel and ovary 0.8 cm long, 3-winged. Flower c. 1 cm across. Dorsal sepal broadly ovate, 0.5 cm long, apex obtuse. Lateral sepals obliquely broadly ovate, 0.5 cm long, apex obtuse; mentum spur-like, cylindrical, 0.3 cm long, apex slightly dilated, minutely bilobulate. Petals about as long as the dorsal sepal, obliquely lanceolate, widened at the base, apex narrowly obtuse. Lip 3-lobed at the base of the blade, clawed, blade 0.6 by , with two lamellae originating in the centre of the base of the lateral lobes, converging on the base of the midlobe; lateral lobes obliquely oblong, erect-porrect; midlobe subquadrate-oblong, broadly obtuse. Column short, ; column-foot minutely pubescent inside.
(after Schlechter, 1905, and Ridley, 1886).
Colours: Flower greenish white, lip with reddish veins.
Habitat: Epiphyte in lowland and lower montane rainforest. Altitude 100 to 900 m.
Flowering time in the wild: February, June, July, September.
Distribution: New Guinea (endemic).
Distribution in New Guinea: Papua New Guinea (Madang, Western Highlands, and Central Provinces).
Map: TRIQUMAP.JPG [Cadetia triquetra (Ridl.) Schltr., distribution map.]
Notes: Cadetia triquetra may be recognised by the pair of curved lamellae running from the lateral lobes to the base of the midlobe. The acute leaves and the colour of the flowers are also distinctive. Ridley erroneously described the stems as 3-winged, they are clearly 4-winged in the type specimen, he moreover failed to notice that the lip is 3-lobed.
Cultivation: Warm growing epiphyte.