Genus Pomatocalpa

Pomatocalpa Breda,
Gen. Sp. Orchid. Asclep. (29) (1829) t. [15]

Monopodial epiphytes. Stem short or elongated. Leaves few to many, distichous, sheathing at the base, glabrous, deciduous, duplicate, leathery. Inflorescence lateral, a raceme or a panicle. Flowers small, resupinate or not. Sepals free. Petals free, usually rather similar to the dorsal sepal, but sometimes much narrower. Lip adnate to the column, spurred, back wall of the spur provided with an erect, glabrous lamella. Column-foot absent. Pollinia 4, more or less unequal, arranged in two bodies, solid, caudicles absent, stipe present, viscidium present.

Distribution
Tropical Asia, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Australia, east to Samoa; about 35 species.

Distribution in the Philippines
Luzon (Cagayan, Ilocos Norte, Benguet, Nueva Vizcaya, Bataan, Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna, Quezon), Polillo, Romblon, Busuanga, Palawan, Balabac, Negros, Bohol, Leyte, Bancalan, Mindanao (Agusan, Davao, Cotabato), Tawi-Tawi; 4 or 5 species.

Habitat
Epiphytes in lowland forests, also on isolated trees.

Notes
A relative of Cleisostoma, with small, mostly dull-coloured flowers, characterised by the pouch-shaped lip. This consists largely of the spur, and has an erect lamella inside. Most species are not very attractive, as a result they are collected more by accident than on purpose, the plants being similar to those of related genera with more showy flowers.

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