Trichoglottis litoralis

Trichoglottis litoralis Schltr. in K.Schum. & Lauterb., Nachtr. Fl. Deutsch. Schutzgeb. Südsee (1905) 230 ('littoralis')

Type: Schlechter 14619 (holo B, lost)

Epiphytic, erect or pendent, unbranched, elongated; roots filiform, elongated, rather thick, flexuose, glabrous. Stem to 100 cm long, many-leaved, entirely covered with the tightly appressed leaf-sheaths, c. 0.5 cm diam. Leaves erect-patent, lanceolate-ligulate, apex obtuse and unequally bilobed, glabrous, coriaceous, 12-14 by 2-2.3 cm; leaf-sheaths striate-veined, 3-3.5 cm long. Inflorescences very short, 2-3-flowered, hardly 1.5 cm long; bracts ovate, acuminate, much shorter than the ovary. Flowers erect-patent. Median sepal narrowly oblong-ligulate, obtuse, 0.7 cm long. Lateral sepals obliquely oblong, subobtuse, along the front margin towards the base somewhat lobe-like dilated, glabrous, nearly as long as the median sepal, but broader. Petals falcate, narrowly oblong-ligulate, subspathulate, obtuse, glabrous, as long as the sepals. Lip 3-lobed, 0.5 cm long; lateral lobes oblong-square, obtuse; mid-lobe concave, reniform, 0.4 cm wide, obtusely subacuminate, with an oblong callus which is puberulous towards the base and an additional minute in front of the mouth of the spur; spur oblong, saccate, obtuse, inside glabrous, 0.3 cm long. Column short, rather thick; rostellum short, ascending bifid. Anther ovate, apex subrostrate-acuminate; pollinia globose 2; stipe narrowly linear, almost 3 times as long as the pollinia; viscidium oblong, smaller than the pollinia. Ovary glabrous, subclavate, 0.7 cm long. (After Schlechter, 1905)

Colours: Flower white, lip with red dots (type), or sepals and petals pale greenish yellow with red-brown spots, lip and column white with purple spots.

Habitat: Epiphyte in lowland forest and on beach trees; 0 to 800 m.

Flowering time in the wild: February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September.

Distribution: Malesia (New Guinea).

Distribution in New Guinea: Papua (Indonesia); Papua New Guinea. See map: 701-50M.JPG.

Cultivation: Warm growing epiphyte.

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