Acriopsis Reinw. ex Blume,
Bijdr. (1825) 376
Sympodial epiphytes with very short rhizomes. Pseudobulbs relatively short and thick, consisting of more than one internode, 2- to 4-leaved. Leaves sheathing at the base, glabrous, deciduous, duplicate, rather thin-leathery. Inflorescence arising from the base of the plant, heteranthous, a slender, many-flowered raceme or a panicle. Flowers small. Lateral sepals connate. Petals free, about as long as the dorsal sepal but differently shaped. Lip adnate to the column, without spur. Apex of the column hood-shaped, with two slender stelids that are translucent at the apex. Column-foot absent. Pollinia 4, solid, caudicles absent, stipe present, viscidium present.
Distribution
Southeast Asia, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Australia; 6 species.
Distribution in the Philippines
Luzon (Kalinga-Apayao, Sorsogon), Leyte, Bucas Grande, Mindanao (Lanao, Misamis, Agusan, Davao), 2 species.
Habitat
Epiphytes in lowland forest, also on roadside trees, often associated with ant's nests.
Notes
An isolated genus with slender inflorescences carrying inconspicuous small flowers, in which the lateral sepals are completely fused (as in Paphiopedilum). The column has prominent arm-like stelidia with translucent yellowish tips, which probably serve to attract pollinators. Species of Acriopsis are rarely cultivated, although A. liliifolia is among the most common orchids in its distribution area.