Bulbophyllum tentaculatum Schltr., Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 1 (1913) 782
Type: Schlechter 19963 (holo B, lost)
Epiphyte, slender. Rhizome short. Roots filiform, flexuose, glabrous. Pseudobulbs ovoid, obtuse, 4-angular, 0.5-0.7 cm apart, 0.7 by 0.35-0.45 cm below the middle; 1-leaved. Leaf erect-patent, elliptic, obtuse, apiculate, glabrous, 1.7-3.5 by 1.2-1.7 cm near the middle. Inflorescence 1-flowered, c. 5 cm long, filiform, erect, with a few small peduncle-scales. Floral bracts very small, many times shorter than the ovary and pedicel. Flower erect. Sepals lanceolate, acuminate, c. 2.5 cm long, glabrous. Lateral sepals oblique. Petals narrowly lanceolate, drawn out into a tentacle-shaped thread, slightly more than a fourth as long as the sepals. Lip ovate, acuminate, almost 3 times shorter than the sepals; base claw-like, concave-auriculate; margins recurved, minutely finely ciliate; surface on both sides glabrous. Column short; stelidia long subulate; column-foot incurved. Long pedicel and ovary very slender, glabrous, c. 4.5 cm long. (After Schlechter, 1913)
Colours: Flowers yellow, with red stripes. Lip violet-pink with white centre and tip.
Habitat: Epiphyte in lowland forest; 30-2000 m.
Flowering time in the wild: April, August.
Distribution: Malesia (New Guinea).
Distribution in New Guinea: Papua New Guinea; see map 96-1818M.jpg.
Cultivation: Warm growing epiphyte.