Cadetia crassula Schltr., Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 1 (1912) 426; 21 (1923) t. 146, fig. 550.
Type: Schlechter 19124 (holo B, lost).
Rhizome short. Pseudobulbs crowded, 1-leaved, thick cylindrical, 0.4-1 by 0.2-0.4 cm. Leaves oblong to elliptic, 0.5-1.2 by 0.25-0.35 cm, thick coriaceous, apex obtuse. Inflorescences arising subapically below the abaxial side of the leaf ('next to the leaf' fide Schlechter), 1-flowered. Pedicel and ovary 0.5 cm long, dorsally 2-ribbed, ventrally rounded. Flower c. 0.5 cm long. Dorsal sepal elliptic, 0.23 cm long, apex obtuse. Lateral sepals obliquely elliptic, apex apiculate; mentum saccate, 0.2 cm long, obtuse. Petals obliquely ligulate, about as long as the sepals, apex narrowly obtuse. Lip clawed, the claw oblong, 0.8 mm wide, adnate to the column-foot, the blade oblong, 0.35 by 0.1 cm, with a basal swelling and a second, rounded swelling near the middle, inside pubescent except on the swellings, apex rounded, abruptly apiculate. Column short, minutely pubescent in front, stelidia tooth-like, shorter than the tooth-like filament. Fruit conspicuously 2-winged, ventrally rounded, 0.7 cm.
(after Schlechter, 1912).
Colours: Flower yellowish white.
Habitat: Epiphyte in lower montane forest. Altitude 1300 m.
Flowering time in the wild: January.
Distribution: New Guinea (endemic).
Distribution in New Guinea: Papua New Guinea (Madang Province: Finisterre Mountains).
Map: CRASSMAP.JPG [Cadetia crassula Schltr., distribution map.]
Notes: Cadetia crassula is tiny species related to Cadetia parvula. Both species have not been recollected since their discovery; at present they are only known from Schlechter's descriptions and illustrations.
Cultivation: Intermediate growing epiphyte.