Orchids of New Guinea

Genus Aglossorhyncha

Aglossorhyncha Schltr., in K.Schum. & Lauterb., Nachtr. Fl. Deutsch. Schutzgeb. Südsee (1905) 133 ('Aglossorrhyncha')

Sympodial epiphytic or terrestrial plants. Stem elongated, often branching. Leaves many, sheathing at the base, glabrous, dorso-ventrally flattened, articulate, duplicate, stiff. Inflorescence terminal, very short, carrying a single flower or a pair of flowers. Flowers rather small, not resupinate, golden yellow, green, or yellowish or whitish with the lip dark green. Sepals free. Petals free, fairly similar to the dorsal sepal. Lip without spur, not mobile, strongly concave, clasping the column. Column-foot absent. Pollinia 4, solid-waxy, caudicles present, stipe absent, viscidium absent. Ovary glabrous.

Genus Aglossorhyncha in New Guinea contains 11 species and 2 varieties:

Aglossorhyncha aurea
Aglossorhyncha biflora
Aglossorhyncha fruticicola
Aglossorhyncha galanthiflora
Aglossorhyncha jabiensis
Aglossorhyncha lucida
Aglossorhyncha lucida var. dischorensis
Aglossorhyncha lucida var. wariana
Aglossorhyncha peculiaris
Aglossorhyncha serrulata
Aglossorhyncha stenophylla
Aglossorhyncha torricellensis
Aglossorhyncha viridis

Distribution:

Philippines, Moluccas, New Guinea, Palau, Bismarck & Solomon Islands, Fiji. Some 12 species; in New Guinea 11 species.

Habitat:

Epiphytes in hill and montane forest, at higher altitudes also terrestrial in shrubby vegetation.

Classification:

Subfamily Epidendroideae
Tribe Arethuseae
Subtribe Coelogyninae
Genus Aglossorhyncha

Notes:

A genus of slender, shrub-like plants, similar in habit to Glomera. The flowers are fairly small and arise singly or in pairs from the tips of the branches. The long column and especially the spurless, boat-shaped lip readily distinguish Aglossorhyncha from Glomera. Unlike many species of Glomera the leaf-sheaths of Aglossorhyncha are neither warty nor provided with a fringe of hairs or laciniae. Rarely found in cultivation.