Agrostophyllum elatum Schltr., Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 1 (1912) 269
Type: Schlechter 18543 (holo B, lost)
Epiphytic, tall, up to 110 cm high. Rhizome very short. Roots filiform, elongated, flexuose, puberulous. Stems erect, straight or almost straight, terete, densely leafy, entirely covered by the leaf-sheaths. Leaves erect-patent, ligulate, subacute, slightly narrowed at the base, 9-16 cm long, 1.7-2 cm wide; leaf-sheaths at the apex on both sides produced into a short, triangular, subacute auricle. Capitulum many-flowered, subglobose, about 2 cm across, enveloped by several sheaths. Peduncles short, 1-2-flowered, covered with a few imbricating scales. Bracts very small, hyaline, apiculate. Flowers erect or suberect. Sepals oblong, acuminate, glabrous, 5.5-6 mm long. Lateral sepals oblique, somewhat decurrent. Petals obliquely oblong, subacute, glabrous, a little shorter than the sepals. Lip at the base cucullate-saccate, oblongoid, 3-lobed; lateral lobes erect, short, broadly obtuse, very small; mid-lobe reniform, apiculate, concave, margin slightly undulate, 3.5 mm long, below the middle 5 mm wide, in front of the mouth of the sac with a transverse, obtusely and shortly bilobulate, glabrous, ascending lamella; sac 3.5 mm long. Column more than half as long as the lip, straight, next to the stigma slightly thickened, below the stigma adorned with a small, semiglobose, fleshy projection. Anther ovate-rhombic, subacute, glabrous. Ovary cylindrical, sessile, glabrous, 0.5 cm long. (After Schlechter, 1911-1914).
Colours: Flower white.
Habitat: Epiphyte in lower montane forest. Altitude 1100 m.
Flowering time in the wild: October.
Distribution: Malesia (New Guinea, endemic).
Distribution in New Guinea: Papua New Guinea. See map: 24-36M.JPG
Cultivation: Intermediate growing epiphyte, keep in light shade.