Diplocaulobium mekynosepalum (Schltr.) Kraenzl., in Engl., Pflanzenr. IV. 50. II. B. 21 (1910) 343.
Basionym: Dendrobium mekynosepalum.
Rhizome short, roots elongated, filiform, flexuose, glabrous. Pseudobulbs crowded, 1-leaved, slender, gradually widened to the base, 12-20 by 0.8 (at the base) to 0.3-0.4 cm (near the apex). Leaves oblong, 8-10 by 2.5-3 cm, apex obtuse, unequally bilobulate, coriaceous. Inflorescences arising in succession from the apex of the pseudobulb, 1-flowered. Pedicel and ovary 4 cm long, slender, glabrous. Flower resupinated, c. 8 cm across. Dorsal sepal lanceolate, to the apex filiform-elongated, 4 cm long. Lateral sepals obliquely lanceolate, to the apex filiform-elongated, to the base abruptly widened, 4 cm long, mentum conical. Petals linear-lanceolate, to the apex filiform-elongated, 3 cm long. Lip 3-lobed in basal third, 1.7 cm long, cuneate at the base, with two parallel undulate-crenulate keels extending from the base of the lip to the top of the claw of the midlobe; lateral lobes short, obliquely oblong, obtuse; midlobe broadly ovate, 0.6 by 0.5 cm, with a narrowly rectangular claw, this 0.5 by 0.4 cm, apex obtuse, basal margins of the blade undulate. Column short, clinandrium 3-lobulate, the lobules tooth-like, with the median much broader than the laterals; column-foot well-developed. Anther rounded-cucullate, glabrous, in front emarginate.
(after Schlechter, 1905).
Colours: Sepals and petals brown-red, lip white, yellow in the centre.
Habitat: Epiphyte in lower montane forest. Altitude 750 to 1300 m.
Flowering time in the wild: January, March, July, October.
Distribution: New Guinea, Solomon Islands.
Distribution in New Guinea: Papua New Guinea (Madang, Morobe, and Oro Provinces).
Notes: The measurements of the lip given by Schlechter appear to be at odds with his drawings, in which two rather different forms are illustrated.
Cultivation: Intermediate growing epiphyte.