Dendrobium nummularia Schltr., Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 1 (1912) 458; 21 (1923) t. 154, fig. 577.
Type: Schlechter 450 (holo B, lost); para: Schlechter 20181 (B, lost).
Rhizome creeping, covered with scales that often soon dissolve into fibres. Pseudobulbs closely spaced, 1-leaved, oblongoid, compressed, largely adnate to the rhizome, 0.3-0.7 by 0.15-0.3 cm. Leaves ovate to elliptic, 0.4-0.8 by 0.25-0.45 cm, margins thickened, apex apiculate; when dry on both sides with reticulate veines. Inflorescences arising from the apex of the pseudobulb, 1-flowered, at the base covered in scales that soon dissolve into fibres. Floral bracts triangular, minute. Pedicel and ovary 0.4 cm long, glabrous. Flower resupinated, c. 1 cm across. Dorsal sepal ovate, 0.45 cm long, apex obtuse; glabrous. Lateral sepals obliquely ovate, 0.45 cm long, apex obtuse; mentum oblongoid, obtuse, c. 5.5 mm long. Petals obliquely narrowly ligulate, c. 0.4 cm long, apex obtuse; glabrous. Lip narrowly cuneate-ligulate, 0.7 by 0.3 cm, apex bilobulate, the lobules quadrate-suborbicular, obtuse, minutely ciliate, with a short, broad, fleshy point in between. Column short, glabrous, clinandrium 3-lobulate, the lobules obtuse, the laterals much broader than the median; column-foot c. 5.5 mm long. Anther rounded-cucullate, in front truncate, glabrous.
(after Schlechter, 1912).
Colours: Flowers dark violet with yellow tips to the sepals, petals, and lip.
Habitat: Epiphyte in hill forest. Altitude 450-800 m.
Flowering time in the wild: May, September.
Distribution: New Guinea (endemic).
Distribution in New Guinea: Papua New Guinea (Sandaun Province: Torricelli Mountains; Morobe Province).
Map: NUMMUMAP.JPG [Dendrobium nummularia Schltr., distribution map.]
Cultivation: Intermediate growing epiphyte.