Liparis molendinacea G.Will., Pl. Syst. Evol. 142: 149 (1983).
Description:
Terrestrial herb c. 25 cm tall; pseudobulbs pyriform, c. 8 cm high, 1.5 cm in diameter at the base. Leaves c. 4, up to 8 × 3 cm, ovate or elliptic, plicate, the margins undulate, the apex somewhat recurved. Peduncle with several ovate, acuminate bracts c. 10 × 5 mm long. Inflorescence laxly c. 12-flowered.Flowers semi-erect, green, the lip with a shiny yellow callus. Ovary and pedicel to 2 cm long; bracts leafy. Dorsal sepal c. 10 × 1.2 mm, linear, curved, obtuse; lateral sepals porrect, c. 10 × 4 mm, obliquely ovate, acute. Petals porrect, c. 12 × 1 mm, linear, obtuse. Lip 4-lobed, 10–12 × 4–6 mm, rectangular or oblong, constricted in the middle; hypochile porrect with a 2-lobed basal callus 0.8 mm high and a yellow longitudinal crest; side lobes erect, c. 6 × 6 mm, oblong, rounded; epichile bent down at right angles, somewhat 2-lobed at the apex with a central apiculus, the margins dentate. Column curved, 6 mm long. Capsule ellipsoid, 6-winged with triangular extensions at the apex.
Habitat:
Swamp forest, in humus on forest floor c. 1300 m.
Cultivation:
As given for the genus.
Distribution:
N. Zambia
References:
Flora Zambesiaca, Vol 11, Part 1, (1995) Author: I. la Croix and P.J. Cribb; New Liparis Species (Orchidaceae) from South Central and East Africa Graham Williamson, Plant Systematics and Evolution, Vol. 142, No. 3/4 (1983), pp. 149-156
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