SECTION Ephippium Schlechter 1913

TYPE: = Bulbophyllum lepidum [Bl.]J. J. Sm. 1905

Synonyms Hippoglossum Van Breda 1829; Cirrhopetalum section Recurvae Garay, Hamer a & Siegerist 1994; section Recurvae [Garay, Hamer a & Siegerist] J J Verm 2014

Epiphytes with creeping rhizomes giving rise to distinct pseudobulbs that arise from nodes beneath and are not fused to the pseudobulb along any distance. The pseudobulbs carry a single, apical, persistent, thick leaf that blooms on a solitary, rachis not to slightly thickened if present, subumbellate, 2 to many flowered, racemose inflorescence with spirally arranged, simultaneously opening flowers with floral bracts that are not amplexicaul and the basal node of the pedicel is one times its diameter above that attachment of the floral bract. The dorsal sepal is free, elliptic to ovate, rounded to caudate, margins entire to erose, fimbriate, glabrous, suface glabrous or adaxially somewhat papillose to hirsute distally and have from 3 to 5 veins. The lateral sepals are 2 to 10 times longer than the dorsal, basally twisted so that the upper margins turn inwards, free to adherent to adnate along the upper margins, sometimes also along the lower margins, the margins entire to minutely erose, the upper margin sometimes slightly fimbriate, glabrous and the surface is glabrous to papillose to hirsute abaxially. The obovate, elliptic to rhombiform to triangular petals are obtuse to caudate, the margins entire to erose to fimbriate, the adaxial surface is glabrous to papillose to hirsute distally and they have 3 veins. The undivided to auriculate, mobile lip is on a thin ligament and is oblong to ovate with a widened base, the margins are entire and usually glabrous and adaxially without ridges, or with 2 inconspicuous to distinct ridges which start at the base as 2 conical knobs, auricles if present attached near the base of the lip and the margins entire and glabrous. The column has the rostellum front receding in between the stelida apices, the stigma is not proximally protruding, the column foot tapers towards its apex of not, and with or without lateral lobes at the apex. The column with stelida are 1/2 the length of the column or much shorter, porrect to downwardly falcate, truncate to rounded to acute to long-subulate. The anther front is concave and the connectivum is drawn out in front to a rounded beak and there are 4 pollina the inner ones a bit longer than the outer and there are no appendages.

There are about 36 species in this section from India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, China, Vietnam, Laos, penninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, the Philippines, Sulawesi, the Moluccas and Taiwan in forests at elevations up to 1700 meters

Entries below with an asterix are listed in publications by J J Vermeullen and so are more likely correct than ones without. Species with a question mark in front, seem to me to not conform and so please use with caution.

~Bulbophyllum abbreviatum Rchb.f 1881 - See Bulbophyllum trigonopus Rchb. f. 1881

1. *Bulbophyllum acuminatum [Ridl.] Ridl. 1907 Thailand, Myanmar and pennisular Malaysia

2. Bulbophyllum adenambon Schltr. 1913 Papua New Guinea

3. *Bulbophyllum auratum (Lindl.) Ridl. 1907 Thailand, Malaysia, Borneo, Sumatra and the Philippines

4. *Bulbophyllum brevibrachiatum (Schltr.) J.J.Sm. 1912 Sulawesi and the Philippines

5. *Bulbophyllum brienianum [Rolfe] J.J.Sm. 1912 Borneo, Malaysia, Sumatra and the Philippines

6. *Bulbophyllum cercanthum (Garay, Hamer & Siegerist) J.M.H.Shaw 2009 Borneo

7. *Bulbophyllum clavuliflorum J.J.Verm. & A.L.Lamb 2008 Sarawak Borneo

8. *Bulbophyllum corolliferum J.J.Sm. 1917 Philippines?, Thailand, Vietnam?, Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo, India? and Singapore

9. *Bulbophyllum gracillimum [Rolfe]Rolfe 1912 Thailand, Myanmar and Malaysia south and east thru the Solomon islands

10. *Bulbophyllum gusdorfii J.J. Sm. 1917 Thailand, Malaysia, Sumatra and the Philippines

11. *Bulbophyllum habrotinum J.J. Verm. & A.L. Lamb 1994 Borneo

12. Bulbophyllum isabellinum Cavestro & J.Champ. 2018 Borneo

13. *!Bulbophyllum lepidum [Blume] J J Sm. 1905 India, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, penninsular Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam and Indonesia

14. Bulbophyllum lineatum (Teijsm. & Binn.) J.J.Sm. 1912 Myanmar

15. *Bulbophyllum makoyanum [Rchb.f]Ridley 1879 Malaysia, Singapore, Borneo and the Philippines

16. *Bulbophyllum mastersianum [Rolfe]J.J.Sm. 1912Moluccas and Borneo

17. *Bulbophyllum ruficaudatum Ridley 1910 - Borneo

18. *Bulbophyllum subbullatum J.J.Verm. 1996 Sarawak Borneo

19. *Bulbophyllum trigonopus Rchb. f. 1881 Thailand, penninsular Malaysia and Borneo

20. Bulbophyllum urosepalum Schltr. 1913 New Guinea

21. *Bulbophyllum vaginatum [Lindley]Rchb.f 1864 Thailand, Malaysia, Java and Borneo

22. *Bulbophyllum venulosum J.J.Verm. & A.L.Lamb 2008 Sarawak and Sabah Borneo