Flickingeria flabelliformis

Flickingeria flabelliformis (Schltr.) A.D.Hawkes, Orchid Weekly 2 (1961) 455.

Basionym: Dendrobium flabelliforme.

Rhizome to 60 cm long, erect, stem-like, rigid, branching. Pseudobulbs widely spaced, 1-leaved, ellipsoid to oblongoid, laterally flattened, 6-7 by 1.7-2.8 cm, usually sulcate. Leaves ovate-lanceolate, 18-22 by 6-6.5 cm, base narrowed, apex obtuse, subcoriaceous, glabrous. Inflorescences in terminal fascicles, 1-flowered, arising on the abaxial side of the leaf. Pedicel and ovary 0.65 cm long, glabrous, cylindrical. Flower c. 2 cm across. Dorsal sepal oblong-ligulate, 1.2 cm long, apex obtuse. Lateral sepals obliquely oblong-ligulate, 1.2 cm long, apex obtuse; mentum conical, 4.5 mm long, obtuse. Petals obliquely ligulate, narrowed to the base, 1.2 cm long, apex acute; glabrous. Lip 3-lobed below the middle, 1.8 by 0.65 cm, base cuneate, keels 3, the median straight, extending to the apex of the midlobe, the lateral keels flexuose on the midlobe, near the base on the external side with a small tooth or scale, gradually terminating somewhat below the apex of the midlobe; lateral lobes triangular, acute, in front truncate with irregular margins; midlobe 1.2 cm wide when flattened, cuneate, flabellate-plicate, lateral margins crenate-incised, apex truncate, minutely apiculate. Column short, clinandrium 3-lobulate, the lateral lobules emarginate, minutely denticulate, a little shorter than the median lobule; column-foot broad, obtuse, near the apex with two cavities. Anther subquadrate-cucullate, glabrous.
(after Schlechter, 1912).

Colours: Flowers pale yellow, with a few red veins on the lateral lobes of the lip.

Habitat: Epiphyte in lower montane forest. Altitude 800 m.

Flowering time in the wild: September.

Distribution: New Guinea (endemic).

Distribution in New Guinea: Papua New Guinea (Sandaun Province: Torricelli Mountains).

Notes: According to Schlechter related to Flickingeria fimbriata (syn. Dendrobium flabellum), from which it is said to differ in having broader leaves, a shorter mentum, short lateral lobes of the lip, and the shape of the column-foot.

Cultivation: Intermediate growing epiphyte.

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