Dendrobium bismarckiense Schltr., in K.Schum. & Lauterb., Nachtr. Fl. Deutsch. Schutzgeb. Südsee (1905) 167; Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 21 (1923) t. 189, fig. 709.
Type: Schlechter 14002 (holo B, lost).
Rhizome very short, roots elongated, filiform, flexuose, glabrous. Stems crowded, patent, slender, up to 30 cm long, many-leaved. Leaf sheaths entirely covering the stem. Leaves erect-patent, narrowly lanceolate, 12-15 by 1.5-2.2 cm, apex acuminate, thinly papyraceous. Inflorescences lateral from the stems, racemose, short, head-like, few-flowered. Floral bracts lanceolate, longer than the ovary, apex acuminate, outside sparsely covered with minute black scale-hairs. Ovary 1.2 cm long, subclavate. Flowers c. 2 cm long, outside sparsely covered with minute black scale-hairs. Dorsal sepal oblong, 1.5 cm long, apex obtuse. Lateral sepals obliquely oblong, much widened at the base, 1.5 cm long, apex obtuse; mentum conical, subacute. Petals obliquely subspathulate-oblanceolate, 1.5 cm long, apex obtuse. Lip in basal part narrowly cuneate, in apical part ovate, 1.8 cm long, thickened in the middle, in basal part with a reflexed obtuse appendage, apical part with undulate margins, glabrous or with scattered warts, apex subacuminate. Column short, clinandrium 3-dentate; column-foot with a cavity near the apex. Anther subtruncate-obtuse, glabrous.
(after Schlechter, 1905).
Colours: Flowers yellowish outside, inside white, the lip with a golden yellow blotch.
Habitat: Epiphyte in montane forest. Altitude 1400-1850 m.
Flowering time in the wild: January, November.
Distribution: New Guinea (endemic).
Distribution in New Guinea: Papua New Guinea (Eastern Highlands Province).
Cultivation: Cool growing epiphyte.