Acanthephippium Blume,
Bijdr. (1825) 353 ('Acanthophippium')
Sympodial terrestrial plants with very short rhizomes. Pseudobulbs fleshy, consisting of more than one internode, 2- to 4-leaved. Leaves sheathing at the base, glabrous, plicate, deciduous, convolute, thin-textured. Inflorescence a lateral, few-flowered, short raceme arising from an immature shoot. Flowers medium-sized, resupinate. Sepals mutually connate, the lateral sepals forming a mentum. Petals free, usually quite different in shape from the dorsal sepal. Lip mobile, without spur. Column-foot very long, curved inwards. Pollinia 8 (4 large, 4 small), solid, caudicles present, stipe absent, viscidium absent.
Distribution
Tropical continental Asia, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Pacific islands, east to Tonga, 11 species.
Distribution in the Philippines
Luzon (Kalinga-Apayao, Mt. Province, Ifugao, Cavite, Laguna, Quezon, Sorsogon), 1 or 2 species.
Habitat
Terrestrial in montane forest.
Notes
A very distinctive genus, in habit rather similar to Phaius, but with quite different, urn-shaped flowers. Occasionally seen in collections.