Tridactyle truncatiloba Summerh., Kew Bull. 3: 297 (1948).
Description:
Stems 25-100 cm long, erect or straggling, leafy towards the apex; roars smooth, 5 mm in diameter, to 100 cm long. Leaves to 15 x 2.5 cm, strap-shaped, obtusely bilobed at the apex. Inflorescences borne along the stem, mostly below the leaves, 10-12 cm long, 7- to 10-flowered, the flowers in two rows, all open together. Flowers strongly and sweetly scented, glistening white, the lip with a green median streak, 5 cm long from tip of dorsal sepal to apex of lip. Pedicel and ovary 12 mm long; bracts 1 mm long, light brown. Sepals 20-21 x 6-7 mm, lanceolate, acute, the dorsal sepal with the edges slightly reflexed in the lower half Lip 25 mm long, 5 mm wide at the base, trilobed at about : halfway; midlobe 13 x 3 mm, lanceolate, acute; side lobes diverging, 8 mm long, widest (3 mm) at the apex, which is truncate and fringed. Basal auricles lobed, 3 mm long. Spur green, 6 mm long, slightly incurved, thickened to 3 mm in diameter in the apical half, then narrowing to a subacute apex. Column 6 mm long.
Habitat:
Apparently lithophytic on crumbling rock in clearings in forest, 300-600 m.
Cultivation.
Try to keep you glasshouse at intermediate temperatures, with a 15°C minimum, but not infrequently in winter the temperature falls to about 10°C. In summer, the aim is not to let the temperature rise above 30°C, but with the high light intensity experienced here this is not always easy to achieve; however, provided the humidity is kept fairly high, most species seem to tolerate the conditions. Certainly, Tridactyle truncatiloba is unlikely to suffer from high temperatures and the hottest and brightest part of the glasshouse suits it well.
Distribution:
Gabon
References:
African Orchids in the Wild and Cultvation La Croix 1997; Angraecoid Orchids Stewart, Hermans and Campbell 2006; World Checklist of Monocotyledons. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet; http://www.kew.org/wcsp/monocots/ accessed 21.03.2017
Images:
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