ORCHIDACE^ 



Plant relatively slender, up to more than 40 cm. tall (stem 

 broken off). Stem erect or nearly so, terete, entirely concealed 

 by the close coriaceous striate leaf sheaths, including these up 

 to 5 mm. thick. Leaves up to 12.5 cm. long, 1.3 cm. wide near 

 the base, distichous, spreading, linear, gradually narrowed from 

 a rounded subclasping base to a rounded or minutely unequally 

 bilobed apex, rigid, thick, coriaceous, with revolute margins ; the 

 mid-nerve strongly sulcate above and carinate beneath ; the up- 

 permost leaves abruptly much smaller. Internodes ±1.5 cm. long. 

 Inflorescence about 1 cm. long, terminal, nodding or reflexed, 

 racemose, springing from the uppermost of several abruptly 

 shortened internodes, markedly exceeded by the upper leaves. 

 Rachis bearing three or four flowers, zigzag, glabrous. Bracts about 



1.4 cm. long, apparently somewhat broader when expanded, 

 strongly cymbiform-conduplicate, near the apex prominently 

 w^ing-keeled, enveloping and about equaling the pedicellate ovary, 

 the lowest bracts often with long foliaceous tips. Lateral sepals 

 about 2 cm. long, 6.5 mm. broad, oblong-lanceolate, complicate- 

 mucronate, somewhat obliquely falcate, seven-nerved, mid-nerve 

 carinate especially near the apex. Dorsal sepal about 2.25 cm. 

 long, 7.5 mm. broad across the middle, narrowly elliptic, acute, 

 about nine-nerved. Petals about 2.1 cm. long, 4.5 mm. wide, lin- 

 ear, slightly falcate, gradually narrowed from about the middle 

 to the base and to the apex which is abruptly contracted to 

 an obtuse or subacute tip. Lip ovate-oblong in outline, three- 

 lobed at about the middle, about 1.7 cm. long, 1 cm. broad across 

 the side lobes ; lateral lobes small, free part about 2.7 mm. long, 



2.5 mm. broad at the base, triangular-oblong, broadly rounded at 

 the apex; middle lobe much larger, about 7.5 mm. long, 5.5 mm. 

 wide at the base, oblong-subquadrate, broadly truncate, apicu- 

 late ; three fleshy undulate keels extend from the thickened base 



[97] 



