Cadetia takadui Schltr., Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 1 (1912) 434; 21 (1923) t. 150, fig. 563.
Type: Schlechter 17422 (B, lost); 19344 (B, lost; AMES, BM, BO, G, K, L, MO, NSW).
Rhizome very short. Stems crowded, erect, slender, narrowing to the base, sharply 4-angled, 4-10 cm by 2.5-3 mm, 1-leaved. Leaves erect to suberect, subfalcate-ligulate, 5.5-11 by 0.7-1.3 cm, apex narrowly obtuse, minutely bilobulate. Inflorescences terminal from the leaf axil, 1-flowered; spathe 1-1.5 cm long, shortly acuminate. Pedicel and ovary 1.2 cm long, 3-ribbed. Flower c. 1 cm across. Dorsal sepal oblong, 0.55 cm long, apex obtuse. Lateral sepals obliquely oblong, mentum spur-like, cylindrical, 0.35 cm long, subacute. Petals obliquely linear, apex acuminate. Lip with a linear, 0.35 cm long basal claw, 3-lobed in basal third of the blade, the blade 0.45 by 0.43 cm, on the disk with two short parallel lamellae; lateral lobes obliquely oblong, obtuse; midlobe much larger, reniform, margins thickened, weakly undulate, apex retuse. Column short, stelidia obtuse, filament shorter, triangular, tooth-like.
(after Schlechter, 1912).
Colours: Flower white, midlobe of the lip red.
Habitat: Epiphyte in hill forest. Altitude 400 to 850 m.
Flowering time in the wild: March, May, September.
Distribution: New Guinea (endemic).
Distribution in New Guinea: Papua New Guinea (Sandaun and Morobe Provinces).
Map: TAKADMAP.JPG [Cadetia takadui Schltr., distribution map.]
Notes: Cadetia takadui is closely related to Cadetia lucida and Cadetia subfalcata, with which it should be compared. It was named after Takadu, a man from New Ireland, who was one of Schlechter's helpers during his last expedition to New Guinea (1907-1909).
Cultivation: Warm growing epiphyte.