Arachnis beccarii imthurnii

Arachnis beccarii Rchb.f. var. imthurnii (Rolfe) K.W.Tan, Taxon. Arachnis, Armodorum, Esmeralda & Dimorphorchis (Orchidac.) (1974) 82

Basionym: Stauropsis imthurnii

An epiphytic plant. Stems short, stout, erect, leafy. Leaves distichous, imbricate, arcuate, firmly coriaceous, elongate-ligulate, acute, up to 200 by 7 cm, the margins sharp, dilated, sheathing the stem at the base. Inflorescence lateral from the base of the leaves, woody, longer than leaves, laxly branched near the apex. Floral bracts short. Flowers fragrant, somewhat fleshy. Pedicel and ovary 1.5 cm long. Sepals spreading, spathulate-oblong, obtuse, up to 3 by 1 cm wide near the apex, the lateral sepals with a well defined median ridge on the back. Petals spathulate, up to 3 by 0.8 cm. Lip with a short claw, fleshy, 3-lobed, 0.6 by 0.7 cm when flattened, saccate in the middle, the lateral lobes erect, orbicular-oblong, the mid-lobe inflexed, broadly oblong, obtuse. Column broad, 0.8 cm long. (After Lewis and Cribb, 1991).

Colours: Flowers white, sepals and petals yellow towards the apices lacking brown blotches. Lip yellow marked at the base with violet-blue.

Habitat: Lithophyte or epiphyte in the lowlands.

Flowering time in the wild: Not known

Distribution: Malesia (New Guinea), Solomon Is.

Distribution in New Guinea: Papua New Guinea (New Ireland).

Cultivation: Warm growing epiphyte.

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