Bulbophyllum trichromum

Bulbophyllum trichromum Schltr., Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 58 (1923) 130

Type: Ledermann 8606 (holo B, lost; iso K)

Epiphyte, pendulous, unbranched or nearly so, to 30 cm long. Rhizome elongated, covered with fairly large sheaths. Pseudobulbs close together, more or less appressed to the rhizome, cylindrical, the apex somewhat narrowed, 1-1.5 by up to 0.4 cm below the middle; 1-leaved. Leaf oblong-ligulate, obliquely subacute, coriaceous, glabrous, 6-7 by c. 1-1.3 cm in the middle; base narrowed. Inflorescences 1-flowered, very short, including the flower hardly 1.5 cm long; peduncle very short, covered with a few peduncle-scales. Floral bracts elliptic, acuminate, as long as the ovary. Flower glabrous. Sepals oblong, ligulate, acute, glabrous, 0.7 cm long. Lateral sepals reflexed, oblique. Petals much smaller than the sepals, obliquely ovate, subacute, glabrous, 0.18 cm long. Lip somewhat fleshy, sessile, narrowly ligulate, subobtuse, somewhat shorter than the sepals 0.55 cm long; above the base rather inconspicuously narrowed; underneath longitudinally grooved. Column short, its base distinctly thickened; clinandrium shortly dentate. Ovary hardly pedicellate, cylindrical glabrous, hardly longer than 0.5 cm. (After Schlechter, 1923)

Colours: Sepals wine-red striped white. Lip yellow.

Habitat: Epiphyte in lower montane forest; 1000 m.

Flowering time in the wild: September.

Distribution: Malesia (New Guinea).

Distribution in New Guinea: Papua New Guinea; see map 96-1875M.jpg.

Cultivation: Intermediate growing epiphyte.

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