Eria ramuana

Eria ramuana Schltr. in K.Schum. & Lauterb., Nachtr. Fl. Deutsch. Schutzgeb. Südsee (1905) 183

Type: Schlechter 13912 (holo B, lost)

Rhizome short, roots rather thick, flexuose, densely tomentose. Pseudobulbs crowded, 2-leaved, strongly [bilaterally] compressed, sharp-edged, oblong, 10 by 0.3 cm. Leaves erect-patent, narrowly lanceolate, 50-65 by 4-5.5 cm, rather thick, glabrous, with prominent veins, apex acuminate. Inflorescences laterally from the apex of the pseudobulb, racemose, erect, flexuose, up to 80 cm long, angular in cross-section, peduncle-scales distant, lanceolate, acuminate; rachis elongated, many-flowered. Floral bracts lanceolate, distinctly longer than the ovary, almost overlapping, apex acuminate. Pedicel and ovary 1 cm long, clavate, glabrous. Flowers c. 3 cm across, glabrous. Dorsal sepal lanceolate, 1.7 cm long, apex acuminate. Lateral sepals lanceolate, falcate, widened at the base along the front margin, 1.7 cm long, apex acuminate. Petals obliquely oblong-lanceolate, subfalcate, 1.5 cm long, apex acuminate. Lip 3-lobed below the middle, 1.3 by 0.7 cm, with a linear callus extending from the base to the middle of the lip; lateral lobes short; mid-lobe large, constricted in the middle, almost 3-lobulate, apex acuminate. Column short; column-foot at the base with a grooved callus. Anther cucullate-rounded, in front shallowly emarginate. Fruit oblong, 6-ribbed, 2.4 by 1.3 cm. (After Schlechter, 1905).

Colours: Sepals and petals yellow-green, lip light brown with a chocolate-brown blotch, in the centre on the mid-lobe golden yellow.

Habitat: Epiphyte in riverine lowland forest. Altitude 100 m.

Flowering time in the wild: January.

Distribution: Malesia (New Guinea, endemic).

Distribution in New Guinea: Papua New Guinea. See map: 282-621M.JPG

Cultivation: Warm growing epiphyte.

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