Glossorhyncha minjensis

Glossorhyncha minjensis P.Royen, Alp. Fl. New Guinea 2 (1979) 579, fig. 201

Type: Pullen 236 (holo CANB; iso L)

Erect, slender, unbranched, 8-65 cm high, epiphytic herb. Stems terete, glabrous. Leaves erect-patent, coriaceous, glabrous, linear-ovate or linear-elliptic, 0.8-2.6 by 0.15-0.2 cm, obliquely obtuse and flattened at tip, narrowed at base, mid-rib grooved above, mainly in apical part with one raised nerve on either side bordering the groove, prominent below; sheaths with very few warts mainly in apical part, tubular, 0.6-1.7 cm long, with straight or flexuose, 0.05-0.2 cm long, glabrous bristles at tip, ribbed. Spathe ellipsoid-tubular, 0.7-0.9 by 0.25-0.4 cm, apiculate, up to 9-nerved, with a few warts only. Floral bract similar to spathe but 0.6-0.7 by 0.25-0.4 cm large, 1-nerved, glabrous. Ovary clavate, 0.7-0.8 by 0.12-0.17 cm, 5-winged, glabrous. Flowers erect-patent. Median sepal glabrous, elliptic to slightly obovate-elliptic, 0.8-0.9 by 0.35-0.4 cm, rounded and apiculate, 5- or 6-nerved. Lateral sepals glabrous, free, obliquely ovate-elliptic, 0.85-1.5 by 0.4-0.5 cm, rounded and conoid-apiculate at tip, 3-nerved at base, 5-nerved in higher part, at base with an ovate-triangular, 0.2-0.3 by 0.2-0.3 cm large, rounded basal appendage. Petals obovate-spathulate, 0.95-1 by 0.45-0.5 cm, rounded, or retuse, 6- or 7-nerved, glabrous on outside, papillate on inside. Lip adnate at base to column, free part broadly triangular-ovate, 0.35-0.5 by 0.4-0.6 cm, 3-lobed, broadly obtusely acuminate at tip, 5-nerved in lower part, 9-nerved in higher parts, papillate on inside at tip and margins only; spur glabrous, conoid,. 0.4-0.45 by 0.2-0.25 cm, rounded. Column short and stout, 0.25-0.3 by 0.15-0.2 cm, clinandrium 3-lobed. Anthers and capsule not seen. (After Van Royen, 1979).

Colours: Flower white.

Habitat: Epiphyte in upper montane forest in shaded positions. Altitude 3414 m.

Flowering time in the wild: July.

Distribution: Malesia (New Guinea, endemic).

Distribution in New Guinea: Papua New Guinea. See map: 325-62M.JPG

Cultivation: Cool growing epiphyte, keep in shade.

Note: The genus Glossorhyncha is here considered to be a synonym of Glomera. For the present species a name under Glomera is not yet available; it may be a species already described under a different name.

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