Dipodium elatum J.J.Sm., Bull. Dép. Agric. Indes Néerl. 19 (1908) 22
Type: Branderhorst 248 (holo BO; iso L)
Slender leafless terrestrial 23-80 cm tall. Median sepal linear-oblong, 1.1 by 0.27-0.3 cm, broadly obtuse. Lateral sepals obliquely linear-oblong, subfalcate, 1.2 by 0.23-0.3 cm. Petals obliquely lanceolate, 1.1 by 0.2-0.23 cm, obtuse. Lip 3-lobed, 1-1.2 cm long, in the basal part with a velutinous swelling, lateral lobes obliquely oblong-linear, 0.26-0.3 by 0.1 cm, obtuse, mid-lobe saddle-shaped, 0.55-0.75 by 0.34-0.43 cm, apex incurved, on the mid-lobe with a villose longitudinal band. Column 0.5-0.6 cm long. Fruit pendulous, oblong-fusiform, c. 2 cm long, pedicel 2 cm long. (After Smith, 1909).
Colours: Flower white with red stripes.
Habitat: Terrestrial in lowland grassland. Altitude 0 m.
Flowering time in the wild: Not known
Distribution: Malesia (New Guinea, endemic).
Distribution in New Guinea: Papua (Indonesia); Papua New Guinea. See map: 245-6M.JPG
Cultivation: Terrestrial, probably parasitic on fungi and probably impossible to grow under normal conditions.
Note: Not closely related to Dipodium pandanum, the only other species of Dipodium known from New Guinea, but very similar to some Australian species, also leafless, with which it should be critically compared.