勐腊石斛 meng la shi hu

Stems ± clustered, compressed, 10-20 cm, to 7 mm wide, at apex ca. 1.5 mm in diam., often branching from upper nodes, internodes 2-2.5 cm, enclosed by persistent leaf sheaths. Leaf apparently solitary, subterminal, lanceolate, 6-8 × ca. 1.5 cm, apex unequally acuminate. Inflorescence from apex of previous year’s leafy or deciduous stem, ca. 1 cm, 1-flowered; bract ovate, ca. 2 mm. Pedicel and ovary ca. 2 cm. Flowers yellow, lip golden yellow with purple blotch near center of epichile, column yellow, anther cap white. Dorsal sepal elliptic, ca. 16 × 8 mm, 7-veined, acute; lateral sepals obliquely elliptic, ca. 20 × 9 mm, 7-veined; mentum oblong, short and wide, ca. 7 × 5 mm. Petals narrowly ovate, ca. 15 × 8 mm, 7-veined; lip slipper-shaped, ca. 20 × 8 mm, with incurved margin; hypochile ca. 5 × 5 mm; lateral lobes inrolled, entire; epichile ca. 15 × 8 mm, apex 2-lobed. Column ca. 4 mm, adaxially hairy, foot ca. 9 mm.

● Lithophytic or rarely epiphytic, on limestone; ca. 1200 m. S Yunnan (Mengla).

This species is known only from a single population with only ca. 50 plants.