Dendrobium melanostictum Schltr., in K.Schum. & Lauterb., Nachtr. Fl. Deutsch. Schutzgeb. Südsee (1905) 167; Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 21 (1923) t. 188, fig. 705.
Type: Schlechter 14441 (holo B, lost).
Rhizome very short, roots elongated, filiform, flexuose, glabrous. Stems crowded, pendulous, slender, up to 60 cm long, many-leaved, unbranched. Leaf sheaths entirely covering the stem. Leaves erect-patent, lanceolate, 9-11 by 1.5-2 cm, apex acuminate, papyraceous. Inflorescences lateral from the stems, racemose, short, head-like, 4-6-flowered. Floral bracts ovate about as long as the ovary or shorter, apex obtuse, outside sparsely covered with minute black scale-hairs. Ovary 1.2 cm long, subclavate, sparsely covered with minute black scale-hairs. Flowers c. 2 cm long, outside sparsely covered with minute black scale-hairs. Dorsal sepal broadly ovate, 1 cm long, apex broadly obtuse. Lateral sepals obliquely broadly ovate, much widened at the base, c. 1 cm long, apex broadly obtuse; mentum conical-oblongoid, obtuse. Petals obliquely oblong, 1.2 cm long, apex obtuse. Lip cuneate in basal part, suborbicular in apical part, 1.4 cm long, with a longitudinal appendage which is lacerate at the base; margins in the middle incurved, apical part densely woolly hairy. Column very short, clinandrium minutely denticulate; column-foot with two oblong cavities above each other. Anther rounded, broadly obtuse.
(after Schlechter, 1905).
Colours: Sepals and petals white; lip sulphur-yellow, orange-yellow in the centre. Flowers outside suffused with yellowish brown and sparsely covered with thin brown (black according to the description) scale-hairs.
Habitat: Epiphyte in lower montane forest. Altitude 1100 m.
Flowering time in the wild: April.
Distribution: New Guinea, Solomon Islands.
Distribution in New Guinea: Papua New Guinea (Sandaun Province: Torricelli Mountains).
Cultivation: Intermediate growing epiphyte.