Liparis truncicola Schltr., Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 1 (1911) 199
Type: Schlechter 16674 (holo B, lost; iso BO, E, L 2x, MO, NSW, S)
Epiphytic, erect or suberect, 25-35 cm high. Rhizome very short, filiform, elongated, flexuose, puberulous. Pseudobulbs crowded, stem-like, cylindrical, towards the apex ancipitous, slightly swollen at the base, 1-leaved, 6-11 cm long, at the base hardly more than 0.35 cm diam. Leaf erect or suberect, lanceolate-elliptic, acute or acuminate, from the middle gradually narrowed towards the base, 15-27 cm long, in the middle or above the middle 2-3.5 cm wide, glabrous on both sides, veined. Inflorescence erect, shorter than the leaf, somewhat laxly many-flowered, secund; peduncle without scales, slightly laterally compressed. Floral bracts erect-patent, ovate-elliptic, acuminate, glabrous, about as long as the ovary. Flowers erect-patent. Sepals recurved, oblong, obtuse, glabrous, c. 6.5 cm long. Lateral sepals oblique. Petals recurved, obliquely linear, obtuse, almost as long as the sepals. Lip at the base almost clawed, bent downwards, 3-lobed; lateral lobes semiorbicular, broadly obtuse, suberect; mid-lobe broadly obovate-cuneate, obtuse, much larger, whole lip about as long as the sepals, mid-lobe 0.4 cm long, above the middle almost 0.3 cm wide, between the lateral lobes with an erect, large, subquadrate, in front hollowed out basal callus. Column slender, semiterete, in front in the middle deeply grooved; auricles semiquadrate, short, c. 0.5 cm long. Anther subreniform-quadrate, in front with an obtuse apiculum, glabrous. Ovary clavate, glabrous, 6-ribbed, including the pedicel 0.8 cm long. (After Schlechter, 1911-1914)
Colours: Not recorded for the type, presumably green, the lip brown at its base, as in var. oblanceolata. A recent collection has pale green flowers with orange lateral lobes to the lip.
Habitat: Epiphyte in montane forest; 1000 to 1600 m.
Flowering time in the wild: October, December.
Distribution: Malesia (New Guinea), Solomon Islands.
Distribution in New Guinea: Papua New Guinea. See map: 416-491M.JPG.
Cultivation: Intermediate growing epiphyte.