Malaxis fissa (Schltr.) P.F.Hunt 1970 Type Drawing by © Schlechter and The Swiss Orchid Foundation at the Jany Renz Herbaria Website

Part Shade Warm Cool Fall

Common Name The Split Malaxis

Flower Size

Found in New Guinea at elevations around 800 to 1200 meters as a miniature sized, warm to cool growing terrestrial with a short rhizome giving rise to an elongate, apically ascending, terete, glabrous, leafy stem carrying patent to erect-patent, obliquely lanceolate, acute, undulate margins, glabrous, petiolate base leaves that blooms in the fall on a graceful, more or less flexuous, angled, glabrous, to 2.4" [6 cm] long, subdensely many flowered inflorescence with deflexed, linear-lanceolate, acuminate, glabrous, a little longer than the ovary floral bracts.

Schlechter states that the leaves are a greenish silver grey above and the flowers are a dark violet red.

Synonyms Crepidium fissum (Schltr.) Szlach. 1995; *Microstylis fissa Schltr. 1911

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Orchidaceae of German New Guinea Schlechter 1911 as Microstylis fissa Drawing fide; Die Orchideen Band 3 Sonderabdruck aus Schlechter Brieger, Maatsch and Senghas Liferung #13 753 - 819 Liparinae 1983 drawing fide;

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