Bulbophyllum melinanthum Schltr. in K.Schum. & Lauterb., Nachtr. Fl. Deutsch. Schutzgeb. Südsee (1905) 208
Type: Schlechter 14577 (holo B, lost; iso AMES 3x, BO, BR, K, NSW, P)
Epiphyte, slender, 8-9 cm high. Rhizome terete, with many roots. Roots filiform, elongated, flexuose, glabrous. Pseudobulbs crowded, subcylindric, towards the base somewhat dilated, glabrous, 0.8-1 by 0.3-0.4 cm above the base; 1-leaved. Leaf linear-lanceolate, acute, gradually narrowed towards the base, subpetiolate, glabrous, thin for the genus, 6-9 by 0.6-1.2 cm near the middle. Inflorescences fascicled, slender, filiform, erect, glabrous, 2-2.6 cm long. Floral bracts ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, glabrous, much shorter than the ovary and pedicel. Flowers rather small in the genus. Sepals lanceolate, acuminate glabrous, 0.4 cm long. Lateral sepals subfalcate-oblique. Petals minute, obliquely rhomboid-oblong, broadly obtuse, much smaller than the sepals. Lip in outline narrowly oblong, tongue-shaped, obtuse, fleshy, hardly 0.3 cm long; in the middle hardly constricted; above grooved glabrous; underneath very minutely hispid. Column short, rather thick; stelidia subfalcate, subulate, exceeding the anther; column-foot short. Ovary very slender, pedicellate, glabrous, including the pedicel c. 1 cm long. Fruit ellipsoid-clavate, somewhat terete, glabrous, c. 1 cm long. (After Schlechter, 1905)
Colours: Flower orange.
Habitat: Epiphyte in lowland forest; 50-100 m.
Flowering time in the wild: April, September.
Distribution: Malesia (New Guinea).
Distribution in New Guinea: Papua New Guinea; see map 96-1125M.jpg.
Cultivation: Warm growing epiphyte.