Phreatia petiolata Schltr. in K.Schum. & Lauterb., Nachtr. Fl. Deutsch. Schutzgeb. Südsee (1905) 190
Type: Schlechter 13847 (holo B, lost; iso AMES, BO, BR, K, L, NSW, P)
Epiphytic, erect, short-stemmed, 7-10 cm high; roots filiform, elongated, flexuose, glabrous. Stem short entirely covered with the leaf-sheaths. Leaves distichous, petiolate, linear, minutely apiculate, glabrous, coriaceous, 2-3.5 cm long, at the middle 0.3-0.4 cm wide, petiole terete 0.6-0.7 cm wide, at the base dilated into a sheath; leaf-sheath 0.5-0.6 cm long, broadly clasping. Inflorescence slender, with 3-5 clasping, distant scales, distinctly surpassing the leaves; rachis rather laxly many-flowered, almost secund. Floral bracts lanceolate, acuminate, shorter than the ovary. Sepals ovate, obtuse, 0.1 cm long. Lateral sepals oblique, dilated along the front margin. Petals obliquely oblong, obtuse, a little shorter than the sepals. Lip at the base broadly clawed, abruptly dilated into a reniform, obtuse blade, 0.1 cm long, blade at the base 0.1 cm wide. Column very short; rostellum short, shallowly notched, hardly lobed. Anther cordate, shortly acuminate. Ovary pedicellate, clavate, glabrous, 0.2 cm long; pollinia 8, obliquely oblanceolate; stipe lacking. (After Schlechter, 1905)
Colours: Flower pure white.
Habitat: Epiphyte in (riverine) lowland forest and sago swamps; 50 to 650 m.
Flowering time in the wild: January, June, July, October, November.
Distribution: Malesia (New Guinea).
Distribution in New Guinea: Papua (Indonesia); Papua New Guinea. See map: 549-184M.JPG.
Cultivation: Warm growing epiphyte.