Terrestrial herbs ca. 20-30 cm tall. Roots 4-5 mm thick. Rhizomes short, ascending. Pseudobulbs clavate or cylindrical, 3-10 cm long, 7-10 mm wide, usually enclosed by leaf sheaths, bearing 3-4 leaves. Leaves oblanceolate or oblong, 10-18 cm long, 3-5 cm wide, coriaceous, apex acute, base cuneate and decurrent into petiole 3-10 cm long, minutely serrate at upper margins, midrib elevated on lower surface. Peduncle lateral, arising from middle part of pseudobulb, erect or ascending, 5-12 cm tall, racemes with 4-8 flowers; bracts lanceolate, 1-1.5 cm long; pedicel and ovary ca. 3 cm long. Flowers whitish or yellowish white, rarely tinged with pale green, 4-5 cm in diam.; sepals oblanceolate, 2.5-3.2 cm long, 5-6 mm wide, acute, lateral ones slightly oblique; petals often with purplish red midrib, obovate-oblong, 2.2-2.5 cm long, 7-8 mm wide, acute, slightly oblique; lip ovate, 1.8-2.2 cm long, 8-12 mm wide, 3-lobed, lateral lobes triangular-semiorbicular, erect, with transverse red lines and spots, mid-lobe ovate, reflexed, obtuse or rounded, with irregular reddish patches, disc with 2 longitudinal keels between sidelobes; column yellowish white, 1.3-1.5 cm long, arched; anther semispherical, yellow, 3 mm across; pollinia 4, in 2 unequal pairs, attached to semi-orbicular viscidium. Capsules elongate ellipsoid, ca. 4 cm long, pedicels 1.5 cm long.

TAIPEI: Wulai, Su & Chen 9023; Tsaikonkengshan, Su & Chen 8675. NANTOU: Chitou, Su 614. HUALIEN: Yuli, Su 8178; Panshih to Longchien, Su 9352. TAITUNG: Duluanshan, Sasaki s. n. May 1929.

Southeast Asia, northward to southern Japan, southern China, the Himalaya, southward through Indonesia to Papua New Guinea. Taiwan, common in broadleaved forests, 500-1,500 m, throughout.

Variety lancifolium is highly variable in the size of the plants and flowers and in flower color. In Taiwan it flowers from April to September and is somewhat disctinct from the following varieties.