Species Information - Dipodium fevrellii

Dipodium fevrellii J.J.Sm.,Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 65 (1933) 497

Type: Kjellberg 2300 (holo L; iso BO [spirit 676.5], S)

Synonyms:

Terrestrial and scrambling/climbing herb. Terrestrial and scrambling phases not known. Climbing phase monopodial, stems to at least 80 by 1.5—1.7 cm (without sheaths), slightly compressed, leafy throughout; internodes 1.4—3 cm long. Leaves spreading to arching, strap-shaped, tapering, 18—24 by 1.8—5 cm; leaf sheaths persistent, overlapping, erect, 9—13 cm long; leaf base conduplicate, broad; apex acute; main nerves 3. lnflorescences erect to sub erect, shorter to longer than the leaves, 24—39 cm long; peduncle 13—28 by c. 0.4 cm, with 2 or 3 scale leaves; rachis cylindrical, 9—12 cm long with up to 18 well-spaced flowers; floral bracts tightly clasping the pedicel, ovate, woody, c. 0.5 cm long, with obtuse apex. Pedicel and ovary 2.8—3.3 cm long; ovary c. 0.38 cm diam., trigonal, thicker than the pedicel. Flowers large, 4.9—5.4 by 3.8—5 cm. Median sepal 2—2.35 by 0.45—0.82 cm, oblong to obovate; apex rounded, sometimes shortly acuminate. Lateral sepals 2—2.4 by 0.47—0.81 cm, oblong to obovate; apex obtuse and shortly acuminate. Petals 1.9—2.35 by 0.4—0.81 cm, obovate; apex obtuse to acute, shortly acuminate. Lip 3-lobed, 1,8—2.25 by 0.7—0.94 cm (flattened); hypochile shortly saccate, its lateral lobes extending to the middle of the column wing, straight, along outer margin 0.5—0.6 cm long, along inner margin 0.3—0.35 cm long, 0.08—0.12 cm wide, linear, the apex obtuse, disc 0.7—0.95 cm long, its basal calli 2, low, hemispherical, separated by a deep groove, glabrous or with a few scattered short hairs, 2 ridges from laterally at the front of the calli, tomentose, thickening and converging from the front of the claw to the base of epichile; epichile conduplicate, 1.4—1.6 by 0.7—0.94 cm when flattened, its claw 0.14—0.2 by 0.3—0.34 cm, transverse-rectangular, its blade elliptic to broadly oblong-obovate, with obtuse apex, spine with a row of short hairs that increase in height and density towards the densely long-haired nose, nerves on flanks thickened with numerous stiff bristles, shorter softer hairs between these nerves, nose conduplicate, 0.25—0.4 mm, triangular, with subacute to rounded apex. Column 0.5—0.7 cm abaxially, 0.95—1 cm adaxially, c. 0.6 cm wide at the apex; wing medium to large, rounded, extending from the distal third to almost the apex or to the apex; stelidia large, rounded; basal cavity shallow to deep; mound V-shaped, prominent, covered in short hairs; rostellum hardly exceeding the stelidia; anther cucullate, 0.2—0.28 cm, its beak shorter than the body; pollinia ovoid, 0.14—0.16 cm long; stipe V-shaped, 0.16—0.2 cm long, arms linear, c. 4 x longer than wide; viscidium oblong. Fruit 5 by 1.8 cm, obovoid, rounded in section with 3 wings with sharp edges.
(after O'Byrne 2017)

---