Orchids of New Guinea

Bulbophyllum veldkampii

Bulbophyllum veldkampii J.J.Verrn. & O'Byrne, Bulbophyllum of Sulawesi (2011) 51, fig. 51-53

Type: Leiden cult. 20052027 ( holo L)

Clustered epiphyte. Roots papillose. Rhizome 0.3-0.5 cm diam.; scales persistent as fibres. Pseudobulbs 0.8-1.5 cm apart, ovoid, 2.5-4.8 by 1-1.5 cm, not angular. Leaf petiole 3-5 cm long; leaf blade (elliptic-)obovate, 13-18.5 by 3.6-5.8 cm, index 3.1-3.9; apex acute. lnflorescence to 60 cm long, to 11-flowered; peduncle erect to patent, 22-33.5 cm long, with 5 scales; rachis porrect, hardly thickened, slightly zig-zag or not, to c. 26 cm long; floral bracts conduplicate along the midnerve, 0.9-1.2 cm long, with acute apex. Flowers lax, l open at a time, lower ones 2.1-5 cm distant. Pedicel and ovary 2-2.2 cm long. Median sepal porrect to recurved, slightly conduplicate towards the apex, (ovate-)triangular, 2.1-2.4 by 1-1.05 cm, index 2-2.4; apex acuminate; glabrous. Lateral sepals free, diverging though sometimes approaching one another at the tip, not twisted inwards close to their base, as the median but sharply conduplicate along the midnerve, with the upper half slightly wider than the lower except near the base, triangular, 3-3.6 by c. 0.5 cm, index 6-7.2 (all without unfolding); apex acute. Petals reflexed, (ovate) triangular, 1.2-1.95 by 0.55-0.75 cm, index 1.9-2.6; apex acute; glabrous. Lip slightly curved c. halfway, 3-lobed, 1.2-1.3 by 0.45-0.55 cm, index 2-2.6; median lobe triangular, obtuse; margins c. glabrous; upper side deeply concave near the base and with 2 distinct, high, thin ridges with a finely erose crest which start near the margins, slowly converge and continue, separated by a deep furrow, ending c. halfway the lip, beyond convex and except the very apex densely covered with conical hairs, the largest of which taper towards the apex, glabrous or locally with a few small warts; underside with a distinct median ridge with a channeled crest, its surface glabrous the lateral lobes near the base slightly antrorse, distinct, ovate to oblong, 0.2-0.22 by 0.1-0.12 cm, its apical margin rounded to obtuse, somewhat erose,-denticulate, back margin with an antrorse, slender, acute tooth close to the ligament, surface about. glabrous. Column 0.8-0.85 cm long, apex not widened; base of stigma distinctly protruding; column foot without median tooth; stelidia slightly downwards falcate, triangular-subulate, 0.4-0.45 cm long, acute, their upper margin c. halfway with an antrorse, triangular obtuse to subacute tooth, their lower margin without a wing or with an inconspicuous, rounded wing near the base.
(After Vermeulen & )'Byrne 2011)

Colours:

Median sepal green, nerves red. Lateral sepals green to yellowish ochre, with red nerves. Petals green, nerves red. Lip yellowish green, adaxially (slightly) suffused with purple except for the furrow towards the base, hairs darker purple to blackish purple, abaxially with some pinkish red spots near the base. Column whitish(-green), in front stained with purple

Habitat:

Disturbed primary forest on limestone bedrock. Altitude: in Sulawesi at 600-700 m

Distribution:

Malesia (Sulawesi, New Guinea)

Distribution New Guinea:

Indonesia (Papua Prov.)

Cultivation:

Warm to cold growing epiphyte

Flowering time in the wild:

In cultivation in Hortus botanicus Leiden in June to December

References:

Juswara, L.S. & Vermeulen, J.J., Malesian Orchid Journal Vol. 22 (2018): 71–74, fig. 1-3

Classification:

Family Orchidaceae
Subfamily Epidendroideae
Tribe Dendrobieae
Subtribe Bulbophyllinae
Genus Bulbophyllum
Section Lepidorhiza
Species Bulbophyllum veldkampii

Notes:

The record for New Guinea is based on a specimen cultivated in Wamena, provenance not recorded, but without doubt collected in Tanah Papua, Papua Prov.