Liparis truncatula Schltr., Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 1 (1911) 185
Type: Schlechter 19039 (holo B, lost)
Terrestrial, erect, small, up to 20 cm high. Rhizome very short; roots filiform, elongated, flexuose, puberulous. Stem cylindrical, terete, at the base covered with long-clasping sheaths, 3-4-leaved towards the apex, up to 8 cm long, c. 0.6 cm diam. Leaves erect-patent, petiolate; blade obliquely and broadly elliptic, acuminate, glabrous on both sides, 7-10 cm long, near the middle 0.3-0.5 cm Wide. Inflorescence straight or nearly so, angular, glabrous; rachis rather laxly 6-10-flowered, up to 7 cm long. Floral bracts very small, ovate, acuminate, spreading to pendent, glabrous, much shorter than the ovary. Flowers erect-patent. Sepals ligulate, somewhat narrowed towards the apex, obtuse, glabrous. Median sepals 0.8 cm long. Lateral sepals falcate, a little shorter. Petals narrowly linear, obtuse, glabrous, as long as the median sepal. Lip at the base indistinctly auriculate, oblong-cuneate, glabrous, at the base with a short, retuse callus, 0.7 cm long, near the apex 0.3 cm wide, at the base and near the middle a little narrower, apex almost truncate and with serrulate-dentate margins. Column slightly curved, glabrous, semiterete, slightly thickened at the apex, somewhat dilated towards the base. Ovary 9-ribbed, glabrous, including the pedicel c. 0.9 cm long. (After Schlechter, 1911-1914)
Colours: Flowers light yellow with a reddish lip.
Habitat: Terrestrial in lowland forest; 100 m.
Flowering time in the wild: January.
Distribution: Malesia (New Guinea, endemic).
Distribution in New Guinea: Papua New Guinea. See map: 416-490M.JPG.
Cultivation: Warm growing terrestrial, requires shaded position.