Liparis altigena Schltr., Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 1 (1911) 192
Type: Schlechter 18706 (holo B, lost; iso BO, E, L 2x, MO, NSW, S)
Terrestrial, erect, small, 15-23 cm high. Rhizome very short; roots filiform, elongated, flexuose, finely villose. Pseudobulbs short, laterally compressed, ovate, 1-leaved, 1.5-2 cm long, below the middle 0.6-0.8 cm wide. Leaf erect-patent or suberect, obliquely lanceolate, acuminate, glabrous on both sides, veined, weakly petiolate-narrowed towards the base, 13-20 cm long, above the middle 2.5-3.5 cm wide. Inflorescence slender-pedunculate, erect, laxly 4-15-flowered, as long as or a little longer than the leaf; peduncle angular, glabrous, usually without peduncle-scales. Floral bracts erect-patent, lanceolate, acuminate, glabrous, much shorter than the pedicellate, ovary. Flowers erect-patent. Sepals patent, lanceolate-ligulate, subobtuse, glabrous, 1.1 cm long. Lateral sepals oblique, a little broader than the median sepal. Petals erect-patent, linear, obtuse, glabrous, as long as the sepals. Lip narrowed at the base, curved, broadly elliptic, 1 cm long, near the middle 0.65 cm wide, glabrous, inside at the base with a very small, quadrate, at the apex retuse median callus, lip especially in apical half with minutely crenulate-undulate margins, apex apiculate. Column slightly curved, glabrous, with short auricles, at the base conspicuously dilated, almost 0.5 cm long. Ovary slender pedicellate, , glabrous, 2.3-2.5 cm long. (After Schlechter, 1911-1914)
Colours: Flowers green.
Habitat: Terrestrial in montane forest, sometimes between tall grass with scattered trees; 840 to 2200 m.
Flowering time in the wild: April, November.
Distribution: Malesia (New Guinea, endemic).
Distribution in New Guinea: Papua (Indonesia); Papua New Guinea. See map: 416-9M.JPG.
Cultivation: Intermediate to cool growing terrestrial, requires shaded position.