''Robiquetia spathulata'', commonly known as the sheath-covered spathe robiquetia, is a species of pouched orchid. It is found from the Eastern Himalayas to Malesia.

Distribution and habitat

''Robiquetia spathulata'' is native to Assam, Bangladesh, Borneo, Cambodia,

East Himalayas ] The Eastern Himalayas extend from eastern Nepal across Northeast India, Bhutan, the Tibet Autonomous Region to Yunnan in China and northern Myanmar. The climate of this region is influenced by the monsoon of South Asia from June to September. It ...

, Hainan, Jawa,

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

, the Philippines,

Sulawesi Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Ar ...

, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam, and Peninsular Malaysia. Under natural conditions, it is typically found in forests at elevations of 400-800 meters.

Description

''Robiqeuetia spathulata'' is a medium to large sized

epiphytic An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...

subshrub A subshrub (Latin ''suffrutex'') or dwarf shrub is a short shrub, and is a woody plant. Prostrate shrub is a related term. "Subshrub" is often used interchangeably with "bush".Jackson, Benjamin, Daydon; A Glossary of Botanic Terms with their Der ...

, sometimes growing to 1 m long. The flowers are cup shaped, the petals and

sepals A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

are predominately yellow with brown or red blotches and the lip and column are "pale cream-yellow in colour". The flowers are typically 6-7 mm long, and are borne densely on an inflorescence about 15-30 cm long. The leaves are obovate-oblong, with an unequal bi-lobed leaf tip. Each leaf is 18 cm long and 4.5 cm wide.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q10933939 spathulata Plants described in 1912 Orchids of Asia