Apostasia wallichii R.Br.

Plants ca. 40 cm tall. Rhizome short; roots proplike, 1.5-2.5 mm in diam. Stem suberect or prostrate toward base, not branched, with several tubular sheaths at base; sheaths to 1 cm, several veined. Leaves many, often clustered toward base of stem; blade linear to sublinear, 10-15(-18) × 0.7-1.2 cm, apex acuminate and with an awn 2-20 mm; petiole-like base 1-4 cm. Inflorescence arising from distal leaf axils, recurved, pendulous, or suberect, racemose or with a few lateral branches, 4-7 cm, many flowered; floral bracts lanceolate, 3-4 mm. Flowers 0.7-1 cm in diam.; pedicel and ovary 13-18 mm. Sepals yellow, linear to narrowly oblong-lanceolate, 4-6 × ca. 1.2 mm, 3-5-veined, apex mucronate. Petals similar to sepals, yellow; lip similar to petals but usually slightly broader. Column lacking wings; filaments ca. 0.5 mm; anthers narrowly ovoid, 1.5-2.5 mm, base sagittate; staminode subcylindric, adnate to style for most of its length though distal ca. 0.5 mm free; style ca. 3.5 mm, extending slightly beyond anthers, apex with slightly dilated stigma. Capsule cylindric, 12-25 × 1.4-2 mm. Fl. Aug.

Locally common; growing in littoral rainforest in sandy soil and in moist loamy or stony soil close to streams in dense rainforest; also growing on slopes in wetter types of open forest, sometimes in loose colonies.