Scientific name: Bulbophyllum bidoupense Aver. et N.V.Duy
English name:
Vietnamese name: Lan lọng bì đúp
Other name:

Perennial short-creeping sympodial epiphytic herb. Rhizome short, insignificant, simple or few branching, with erect, densely clustering pseudobulbs. Pseudobulbs 1-leaved, commonly touching each other, very small, rudimentary, dark green, globular to oblate, (1.5–)2–4(–5) mm in diam., sometime slightly oblique, young enveloped by brownish scarious sheaths, old with fibrous remnants at the base. Leaves sessile, erect, oblanceolate, obtuse, rigid, fleshy, succulent, subterete broadly furrowed, broadly crescent at cross section, (2.5–)3.5–6.5(–8) cm long, (2–)3–5(–8) mm wide, (1.5–)2–3(–4) mm thick. Inflorescence raceme, arising from the base of pseudobulb, (6–)8–18(–20) cm long, arching to pendulous; scape dark purple, suberect or almost horizontal, (3–)4–8(–10) cm long, with (1–)2–3 small distant sterile bracts; rachis purple, commonly nodding and pendulous, (3–)4–8(–10) cm long with many spirally arranged lax flowers. Floral bracts purple to dark purple, almost straight, cuneate, conduplicate, acuminate, (2–)3–5(–6) mm long, 0.5–1 mm wide. Pedicel and ovary purple to dark purple, 1.5–2 mm long, sparsely verruculose; ovary obovoid 0.8–1.2 mm long; pedicel cylindric, 0.8–1 mm long, 0.4–0.5 mm in diam. Flowers pendulous, not widely opening; sepals and petals purple to dark purple, sepals with 3, petals with 2 light purple to whitish stripes, lip purple-brown to olive tinged with purple, column and anther cap white. Sepals free, subsimilar, straight, 3-veined, diverging toward their apices, broadly lanceolate to narrowly ovate, acuminate, (5–)6.5–8.5(–9) mm long, 1.6–2.2 mm wide, dorsally with 3 distinct keels, lateral sepals slightly oblique and larger. Petals straight, forward directed, oblong broadly lanceolate, 1-veined, acute, 2.5–3 mm long, 0.5–0.8 mm wide. Lip oblong ovate triangular, blunt, strongly recurved, conduplicate in basal half, with indistinct ears at base, densely papillose on adaxial surface, 2.2–2.8 mm long, 0.6–1 mm wide, joined with column foot apex by movable articulation. Column erect, cylindrical, 1 mm tall, 0.6–0.8 mm wide, with large 3-lobed stelidia of which 1 lobe forward recurved and 2 lobe erect, much exceeding in length anther cap; column foot 0.8–1.2 mm long, forward curved. Anther cap hemispheric, 0.5–0.6 mm across, beak short, broad, truncate, finely erose along the margin. Pollinia 4, narrowly ovoid, 0.4 mm long.

Fruits unknown.

Etymology:—Species epithet refers to Bidoup Mountains where the largest population of this species was recently found.

Ecology:—Creeping epiphyte; primary broad-leaved, evergreen, humid montane forests. (600)800–1,800 m a.s.l.

Fl. May–June. Rare. Estimated IUCN Red List status—DD.

Distribution:—Vietnam: Dak Nong (Dak Glong district, Nam Nung nature reserve), Lam Dong (Dalat City area; Lac Duong district), Ninh Thuan (Ninh Son district). Endemic.