Myrmechis chalmersii

Myrmechis chalmersii (Schltr.) Schuit., Blumea 41 (1996) 401

Basionym: Zeuxine chalmersii

Small, erect, c. 6 cm tall, unbranched. Stem at the base decumbent, erect, terete, glabrous, few-leaved, at the base covered with sheaths. Leaves patent to overhanging, obliquely ovate, acuminate, glabrous, 1.2-1.5 cm by 0.6-0.8 cm; petiole at the base dilated, sheathing, short. Inflorescence few-flowered. Floral bracts lanceolate, acuminate, soon withering, longer than the ovary. Flowers erect. Median sepal ovate, somewhat obtusely acuminate, puberulous outside especially near the base, 0.5 cm. long. Lateral sepals obliquely oblong, shortly acuminate, puberulous, about as long as the median sepal. Petals at the base ovate, somewhat obtusely acuminate, glabrous, oblique, along the front margin dilated in basal half, as long as the median sepal, adhering to the median sepal by the dorsal margins. Lip at the base concave, claw-like narrowed, in front 3-lobed; lateral lobes patent, obliquely oblong, obtuse; mid-lobe shortly clawed, transverse, very shortly acuminate, 0.2 cm wide, papillose, lip in total 0.5 cm long, near the base inside with two rounded appendages. Column short, with two arms, the arms oblong, irregularly crenulate; rostellum very slender, erect, deeply bifid. Anther long rostrate, at the base cordate; pollinia clavate, in their basal half adhering to the linear stipe; viscidium oblanceolate, apex acute. Ovary puberulous, cylindrical, 0.6 cm long. (After Schlechter, 1906, as Zeuxine chalmersii Schltr.)

Colours: Flowers probably white.

Habitat: Not recorded, probably epiphytic on mossy logs in lower montane forest, like related species elsewhere.

Flowering time in the wild: Not recorded.

Distribution: Malesia (?Lesser Sunda Is., ?Moluccas, New Guinea).

Distribution in New Guinea: Papua New Guinea, south-eastern part, exact locality not recorded.

Cultivation: Probably as an intermediate growing epiphyte in a shaded position.

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