Tuberolabium papuanum

Tuberolabium papuanum (Schltr.) J.J.Wood ex B.A.Lewis & P.J.Cribb, Orchids Vanuatu (1989) 150

Basionym: Saccolabium papuanum

Epiphytic, very small; roots filiform, glabrous. Stem short, to 3 cm long, densely leafy, covered with the leaf-sheaths. Leaves patent, ligulate, obtuse, gradually somewhat narrowed towards the base, 3-6 cm long, at or above the middle 0.8-1 cm wide. Inflorescence very short, gradually few-flowered; peduncle and rachis very short, somewhat fleshy. Floral bracts very small, deltoid, acute, much shorter than the subsessile ovary. Flowers glabrous, opening in succession. Sepals oblong, obtuse, 0.55 cm long. Lateral sepals subapiculate, oblique. Petals obliquely oblong-ligulate, obtuse, somewhat narrowed towards the base, almost as long as the sepals. Lip in outline oblong, a little shorter than the sepals, near the centre longitudinally deeply grooved; lateral lobes hardly developed, apex fleshy, obtuse, outside slightly conical-elongated; spur oblongoid, obtuse, turned upwards. Column short, rather thick; rostellum short, bidentate. Anther reniform-cucullate; pollinia globose; stipe linear, almost twice as long as the pollinia, in the middle slightly dilated; viscidium suborbicular, very small. Ovary cylindrical, subsessile, glabrous, c. 0.5 cm long. (After Schlechter, 1911-1914)

Colours: Flowers yellow, lip and spur white.

Habitat: Epiphyte in lower montane forest; 900 to 1000 m.

Flowering time in the wild: January, February, October, November, December.

Distribution: Malesia (Sulawesi, New Guinea), Australia, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Fiji, Tahiti, Tubuai Islands.

Distribution in New Guinea: Papua New Guinea. See map: 711-12M.JPG.

Cultivation: Intermediate growing epiphyte.

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