Orchids of New Guinea

Genus Pseuderia

Pseuderia Schltr., Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. Beih. 1 (1912) 344

Sympodial terrestrial plants.Stem elongated, climbing, branching. Leaves many, sheathing at the base, glabrous, dorso-ventrally flattened, articulate, convolute, rather thin-textured but leathery. Inflorescence lateral, a few-flowered (occasionally 1-flowered) raceme. Flowers rather small, resupinate, yellow or whitish with red-brown spots. Sepals free. Petals free, as long as the sepals but narrower, falcate. Lip without spur, not mobile, entire. Column-foot absent. Pollinia 4, solid-waxy, caudicles absent, stipe absent, viscidium absent.

Distribution:

Moluccas, New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Carolines, east to Samoa. About 10 species; in New Guinea c. 12 species.

Habitat:

Climbing against trees in lowland and hill forest.

Classification:

Subfamily Epidendroideae
Tribe Podochileae
Subtribe Eriinae
Genus Pseuderia

Notes:

Not many orchids can be called true climbers, but Pseuderia is a notable exception. The branching stems become many meters long, forming tangled masses. The short lateral inflorescences carry fairly inconspicuous flowers that are mainly notable for their lack of notable characters. In the structure of the pollinia Pseuderia strongly resembles Dendrobium, but otherwise it does not resemble that, or indeed any other genus, very closely. Pseuderia is as yet unknown in cultivation.

Genus Pseuderia in New Guinea is present with 15 species:

Pseuderia amblyornidis
Pseuderia brevifolia
Pseuderia diversifolia
Pseuderia floribunda
Pseuderia frutex
Pseuderia ledermannii
Pseuderia nigricans
Pseuderia pauciflora
Pseuderia robusta
Pseuderia sepikana
Pseuderia similis
Pseuderia sympodialis
Pseuderia takeuchii
Pseuderia trachychila
Pseuderia wariana