Vrydagzynea argyrotaenia

Vrydagzynea argyrotaenia Schltr. in K.Schum. & Lauterb., Nachtr. Fl. Deutsch. Schutzgeb. Südsee (1905) 84

Type: Schlechter 14477 (holo B, lost)

Erect, delicate herb, 7-10 cm high, glabrous; roots flexuose, finely villose. Stem unbranched, usually decumbent at the base, erect, terete, at the base with cataphylls, leafy near the apex. Leaves petiolate, erect-patent or patent, ovate-lanceolate or lanceolate, 1-2.5 cm long, below the middle 0.6-1 cm wide, acute or acuminate; petiole 0.6-0.7 cm long, at the base strongly dilated and cucullate-clasping. Inflorescence with a few tightly clasping peduncle-scales, at the apex 1- to 4-flowered. Floral bracts ovate or ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, a little longer or a little shorter than the ovary. Flowers erect. Median sepal ovate, 0.5 cm long, apex narrowed, obtuse, concave. Lateral sepals obliquely ovate-lanceolate, subfalcate, subobtuse, only slightly longer than the median sepal. Petals erect, obliquely ovate-lanceolate, 0.4 cm long, apex narrowed, subobtuse, front margins dilated towards the base. Lip ovate, 0.4 cm long, near the middle 0.2 cm wide, inside minutely papillose-puberulous, apex swollen, narrowed, subobtuse; spur conical-inflated, at the base in front flattened, retuse, almost bilobed. Anther ovoid, acute; pollinia obliquely clavate; viscidium ovate, in front acute. Ovary cylindrical, 0.7 cm long, more than twice as long as the spur. (After Schlechter, 1905)

Colours: Leaves dark green with a broad silvery longitudinal band. Sepals outside greenish tinged brown, petals and lip white.

Habitat: Terrestrial in lower montane forest; 400 to 1650 m.

Flowering time in the wild: April, July, August, September.

Distribution: Malesia (New Guinea), Solomon Islands.

Distribution in New Guinea: Papua (Indonesia); Papua New Guinea. See map: 725-6M.JPG.

Cultivation: Intermediate growing terrestrial, requires shaded position.

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