Orchids of New Guinea

Prev Taxon: Genus Calymmanthera

Current Genus: Genus Ceratostylis

Next Taxon: Genus Ceratostylis section Ceratostylis

Prev Species: Ceratostylis ciliolata

Jump:

Next Species: Ceratostylis compressicaulis

Ceratostylis clavata

Ceratostylis clavata J.J.Sm., Bull. Dép. Agric. Indes Néerl. 19 (1908) 11

Type: Versteeg 1674 (holo BO)

Growing in tufts. Rhizome short. Stems numerous, erect, terete, 9-23 cm long, 0.13 cm thick, apex 1-leaved, at the base covered with sheaths. Leaf erect, terete, above indistinctly grooved, acute, 2-3.2 cm long, 0.01-0.03 cm thick. Inflorescence many-flowered, capitate, surrounded by sheaths, peduncles fascicled, short, 1-flowered. Floral bracts convolute, clasping the ovary and equally long, ovate-triangular, acuminate, acute, 0.33 cm long. Flowers 0.33 cm wide, 0.86 cm long. Sepals outside slightly puberulous, sepals and petals at the base parallel, in upper part strongly recurved. Median sepal oblong, apex narrowed, narrowly obtuse, 3-nerved, 0.33 cm long 0.14 cm wide. Lateral sepals at the base on one side dilated into a very narrow lobe, obliquely oblong, somewhat falcate, obtuse apiculate, 3-nerved, 0.36 cm long, 0.16 cm wide, with the column-foot forming a pendulous, slender, very long spur-like, club-shaped, almost sigmoid mentum, with a very short ovoid-globose inflated and dorsally compressed apex, 0.53 cm long, at apex 0.2 cm wide. Petals lanceolate, acute, 1-nerved, 0.3 cm long, 0.07 cm wide. Lip very long spathulate, parallel to the column-foot, erect, 3-nerved, 0.8 cm long, claw linear, at the base slightly extending beyond the apex of the column-foot, concave, sparsely ciliate, 0.5 cm long, 0.01-0.06 cm wide, blade in outline elliptic, weakly 3-lobed, in the basal part concave and with 2 small puberulous ribs that are narrowed above the middle, carnose-thickened, above and below convex, obtuse, minutely papillose, 0.17 cm wide. Column short, deeply bipartite, 0.14 cm long, branches oblong, obtuse, outside convex, much surpassing the almost orbicular anther. Column-foot making a sharp angle with the ovary, elongated, somewhat curved, apex short-incurved, narrowly linear, 0.43 cm long. Ovary densely pubescent, 0.28 cm long. Fruit sessile, oblong, sparsely pubescent, 0.7-0.8 cm long. (After Smith, 1909)