Platanthera valkenburgii S.Nowak, Efimov, Szlach. & Kolan. 2020

Drawing by © Emmanuel Saya and The Gallery Orchids of Papua New Guinea Website

Common Name Valkenburg's Platanthera

Flower Size .6" [1.5 cm]

Found in Papua New Guinea in primary forests at elevations around 2450 meters as a medium sized, cold growing terrestrial with slightly thickened, pilose tuberoids giving rise to a dimorphic stem, one carrying sessile, elliptical-ovate, acute, broadly cuneate leaves that arises after blooming and a blooming stem arising in the fall to 24" [60 cm] tall, provided with 7 cauline, broadly lanceolate to ovate, acute, gradular, smaller above, the uppermost one bract-like, erect, densely to 23 flowered inflorescence with ovate, lower longer, upper shorter that the ovaery floral bracts and carrying greenish flowers

"Species similar to P. papuana, but easily distinguishable by strongly thickened to keel-like mid vein of floral bract and dorsal sepal (vs. at most slightly thick), petals as wide or wider than long (vs. twice as long as wide) and distinctly dilated lip (vs. ligulate)." S.Nowak, Efimov, Szlach. & Kolan. 2020

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;

* New Zealand Journal of Botany, 58(3), 236–244. S.Nowak, Efimov, Szlach. & Kolan. 2020

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