Bulbophyllum kelelense Schltr., Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 1 (1913) 722
Type: Schlechter 16155 (holo B, lost)
Epiphyte, small, 7-14 cm high. Rhizome very short. Roots filiform, elongated, flexuose, glabrous. Pseudobulbs clustered, cylindrical-ovoid, 1-2.3 by 0.45-1 cm below the middle; 1-leaved. Leaf erect oblong-ligulate, apiculate, glabrous, 5-12 by 1-2.5 cm near the middle; base gradually somewhat narrowed. Inflorescences, 1-flowered from the base, short, covered with few small sheaths, 0.7 cm long. Floral bracts minute, triangular, acute, much shorter than the ovary. Flower erect, small for the section. Sepals reflexed, lanceolate, acute, glabrous, 0.6 cm long. Lateral sepals somewhat broader than the median sepal, oblique. Petals obliquely subfalcate-lanceolate, sharply acute, 0.13 cm long; margins near the base on either side slightly lobe-like dilated. Lip sessile, tongue-shaped-cylindrical, subobtuse, 0.45 by 0.1 cm near the middle; at the basal margin slightly auriculate; below the middle somewhat constricted; sparsely verruculose-auriculate except in the basal third. Column slightly curved, very small; stelidia short, lacerate; column-foot almost absent. Anther ovate-cucullate, glabrous, with oblong umbo. Pedicel and ovary slender, glabrous; 0.55 cm long. (After Schlechter, 1913)
Colours: Flower red.
Habitat: Epiphyte in lowland forest; 200 m.
Flowering time in the wild: June.
Distribution: Malesia (New Guinea).
Distribution in New Guinea: Papua New Guinea; see map 96-908M.jpg.
Cultivation: Warm growing epiphyte.