Cadetia quinqueloba Schltr., Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 1 (1912) 435; 21 (1923) t. 150, fig. 564.
Type: Schlechter 18712 (holo B, lost; iso AMES, E, G, K, L, NSW).
Roots to more than 16 cm long, 1-1.5 mm diameter. Rhizome very short. Pseudobulbs crowded, terete, weakly 4-ribbed, 1.5-11 cm long, (1.5-)2-3 mm diameter. Leaf linear to linear-oblong or linear-elliptic, index 4-15, (1.5-)2.5-8.5 cm by 4-7 mm, base cuneate, apex obtuse to subacute, minutely bilobulate, mucronate, mucro longer than the lobules. Inflorescences terminal from the leaf axil and subterminal just below the abaxial side of the leaf, solitary, rarely 2 in succession, at the base with a 4-5 mm long tubular sheath. Peduncle 3-4 mm long. Ovary and pedicel 12-35 mm long, 3-winged, glabrous. Flower c. 1 cm across. Median sepal patent, ovate to broadly ovate, 4.3-7.7 by 2.9-4.6 mm, obtuse, 3-nerved. Lateral sepals patent, obliquely broadly ovate, 3.8-5.7 by 3.9-5.0 mm, obtuse, 3-nerved, inserted on the column foot; mentum conico-cylindrical, straight, 3-4 mm long, apical closed part 1.5-2.5 mm long, apex rounded. Petals porrect, linear to linear-lanceolate, 4.5-6.4 by 0.6-1.2 mm, entire, obtuse, 1-nerved. Lip spathulate, 3-lobed, glabrous to shortly pubescent on the claw; claw linear to oblong, 2.2-4.2 by 0.7-1.8 mm; blade of hypochile 2.7-4.5 by 3.1-4.2 mm; lateral lobes 2-lobulate, the basal lobule obliquely semi-elliptic, 0.9-1.6 by 0.9-1.6 mm, with entire to irregularly dentate margins, obtuse, suberect, sometimes the basal lobule reduced to a short tooth, apical lobule linear to broadly oblong, 1.0-2.9 by 0.4-0.7 mm, porrect, straight, obtuse to truncate, the apical lobules at the base with a short crest or callus which is connected to a transverse horizontal emarginate lamella which joins the lateral lobes; midlobe transversely elliptic to obcordate, 2.0-3.1 by 3.5-4.3, fleshy, entire, apex emarginate, with or without a very small mucro in the sinus, at the base with a more or less triangular, obscurely 3-ribbed callus, sometimes also with irregular callosities on either side of the median callus. Column 2.0-3.2 mm long, glabrous or minutely papillose, sometimes with 2 dorsal keels, wings roughly triangular, bilobed, one of the lobes rather variable in shape, ranging from broadly rounded to awn-shaped; clinandrium entire, with a triangular median tooth; foot 3-4 mm long, strongly pubescent. Anther suborbicular, base truncate, 1 by 1 mm, glabrous; pollinia c. 1 mm long. Fruit ovoid, c. 10 by 4 mm, 3-winged.
Colours: Leaves glossy green, paler below. Flower pure white, callus sometimes yellow.
Habitat: Epiphyte on mossy tree trunks in montane forest, sometimes on Pandanus in swampy vegetation, terrestrial in steep road banks, or on moss-covered rocks. Altitude 1500 to 2700 m.
Flowering time in the wild: January, May, June, September, November.
Distribution: New Guinea (endemic).
Distribution in New Guinea: New Guinea: Papua New Guinea (Eastern Highlands, Western Highlands, Morobe, Central, and Milne Bay Provinces).
Notes. Cadetia quinqueloba is easily recognized by the bilobulate lateral lobes, of which the straight apical lobules project foreward over the emarginate midlobe. Occasionally the basal lobules of the lateral lobes are reduced to short teeth. This species appears to be rather variable in size, as well as in the exact shape of the various callosities on the lip, its lobes, and the morphology of the column wings. The margin of the basal lobule of the lateral lobes varies from entire to distinctly irregularly denticulate.
Cultivation: As for Cadetia chionantha.