Disperis rhodoneura

Disperis rhodoneura Schltr. in K.Schum. & Lauterb., Nachtr. Fl. Deutsch. Schutzgeb. Südsee (1905) 81

Type: Schlechter 14332 (holo B, lost)

Tuber ovoid, 1 cm long. Stem erect, slender, 10 cm long, in basal half with 2-3 short cataphylls, near the middle with two somewhat distant leaves. Leaves erect-patent, ovate-cordate, 2-2.3 by 0.8-1 cm, thin-textured, apex acute to acuminate. Inflorescence 1-flowered. Floral bract foliaceous, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, apex short acuminate, about half as long as the ovary. Pedicel and ovary 1 cm long, cylindric, glabrous. Flower resupinate, c. 1 cm across. Dorsal sepal narrowly linear-lanceolate, 0.8 cm by 2 mm, forming an open helmet together with the petals, apex subacute. Lateral sepals obliquely falcate-oblong, 0.6 cm by 3 mm, apex obtuse; in the middle with a short, conical, obtuse spur. Petals obliquely obovate, widened along the anterior margin, 0.8 cm by 3 mm, apex obtuse. Lip clawed, 0.5 cm long, above the linear claw cuneate, divided into two lanceolate, curved, divergent arms, 0.2 cm long, with two obliquely lanceolate auricles on either side at the base, in apical part with a forked, fleshy, farinose-pubescent callus following the outline of the lip. Rostellum arms cartilaginous. (After Schlechter, 1905).

Colours: Leaves bronze-brown with red-pink midvein. Flower pink, the petals along the anterior margin with some sparse greenish spots.

Habitat: Between moss on shaded boulders in hill forest. Altitude 700 m.

Flowering time in the wild: April.

Distribution: Malesia (New Guinea, endemic).

Distribution in New Guinea: Papua New Guinea. See map: 246-13M.JPG

Cultivation: Warm-intermediate growing terrestrial, keep in shade.

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