Neobathiea hirtula H.Perrier, Notul. Syst. (Paris) 7: 49 (1938).
Description:
Epiphytes with short stems (2-5 cm) and slightly compressed; leaves 4-5 oblanceolate (5-8.5 x 1.5- 1.8 cm), attenuate from the apex to the base and with the margins heavily undulate. Inflorescences 13- 20 cm long; peduncle 10-12 cm, with short (5 mm), obtuse sheaths; cluster short (1.5-6 cm), loosely 2-5 flowered: rachis slightly sinuate, thicker than the peduncle; bracts short (4-5 mm) acute and rigid: flowers with the sepals and petals green and the labellum pure white, with green basally. Median sepal lanceolate linear ( 15 x 1 mm,), attenuate in the upper third toward the bane and apex, acuse, with the dorsal vein projecting, lateral sepals slightly longer (18 mm) and wider, shortly joined basally to the petals. Petals almost similar to the sepals. Labellum deeply trilobed, covered above with papilla and hirsute al the base of the lobes; lateral lobes widely oval (10 x 6.5 mm), 3-4 veined; median lobe obovate-cuneiform (15 x 10 mm), widely emarginate apically and provided in the middle of the notch with a very acute acumin, 7 veined, the 5 median straight and simple, the 2 others very branched at the external edges only; spur attenuate to the wide oriface. 3-3.2 cm long. Anther hemispherical (2 mm); pollina spherical, with the cauda retracted-inserted in the bandeletts in a sort of cupule, apically, from the external edge; bandeletts nearly square, but in the form of a thick crotch, the apex obtuse and recurved, being separated from the cauda and the cupule by a deep notch. Column thick, 3 mm tall; auricles nearly square; arms immediately below, adnate to the sides of the spur oriface, with the apex forming a slightly obvious margin; median lobe of the rostellum longer (1.5 mm) than the auricles, is the form of a rostrum, acute and incurved; stigma deeply set below the spur oriface. Pedicel glabrous, 1.8-2 cm long.
Habitat:
Epiphytes of branches: tropical forests; flowering: January.
Cultivation:
As given for the genus.
Distribution:
Madagascar
References:
Flora of Madagascar Perrier 1938/81; Cultivated Angraecoid Orchids Of Madagascar Hillerman & Holst 1986; Angraecoid Orchids Stewart, Hermans, Campbell 2006; Orchids of Madagascar Hermans 2007; Field Guide to the Orchids of Madagascar Cribb & Herman 2009; WCSP (2017). 'World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. 09.03-2017; http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
Images:
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