Vanilla polylepis Summerh.

A glabrous, leafy liane or creeper of indeterminate length with roots of various lengths arising at nodes.. Stems slightly fractiflex, with internodes up to 15 cm. long and 2.5 cm. diameter, succulent, terete, green with single leaf arising at each node, opposite or subtending each adventitious root.. Leaves persistent, coriaceous, alternate, elliptic-lanceolate to oblong, shortly acuminate, 12–21 cm. long and 3–8 cm. broad, upper leaves smallest, rich green.. Inflorescence axillary or pseudo-terminal, subtended by 1–2 bract-like leaves, densely many-flowered, unbranched.. Bracts ovate, up to 1.5 cm. long, closely imbricating.. Flowers often opening singly or up to 3 at one time, persisting for 1–3 days, pale green to greenish white with tepals flushed deeper green on outer surface and towards apex, lip much paler with rosy maroon to brownish purple longitudinal streaks towards apex and yellow towards base; albinos and partial albinos occur occasionally; pedicel and ovary up to 6 cm. long.. Sepals oblanceolate, obtuse and subacute, ± clawed at base, fleshy; dorsal sepal up to 6.3 cm. long and 1.8 cm. broad; lateral sepals up to 5.9 cm. long and 1.7 cm. broad.. Petals less fleshy than sepals, asymmetric, elliptic-lanceolate, up to 6.3 cm. long and 1.6 cm. broad, shallowly grooved along entire length on dorsal surface, with a pronounced keel running along centre of groove to within 7 mm. of petal apex, apical 2 mm. of keel free, usually porrect, forming a horn-like appendage.. Lip up to 6 cm. long, basal part united to column for 3 cm., forming a funnel-like tube, obscurely 3-lobed, apex enveloping column and expanded into membranous rolled lobe with markedly undulate margins and bearing crest of numerous small warts and 2–3 porrect stout hairs up to 2 mm. long; disc of lip, immediately under apex of column, with crest of up to 12 rows of transverse, parallel, lamellate, dendritic branched scales up to 2 mm. long; basal 3 cm. of lip with papillae-like outgrowths.. Column adnate to lip for 3 cm., arcuate, up to 4.5 cm. long, hairy on lower surface of basal 2.7 cm., winged towards apex.. Capsule up to 15 cm. long and 1.5 cm. broad.. Fig. 51, p. 262.