Epiphyte, 15-100 cm tall; pseudobulbs lacking; stem unbranched, usually somewhat 2-edged. Petioles articulate below blade; leaves conduplicate, ligulate to elliptic-lanceolate, acute or obtuse, 4-25 cm long, l-5 cm wide, largest on the middle of the stem. Inflorescences simple or branched, terminal, racemose or subcapitate; peduncles very long, 10-45 cm long, longer than rachis, 2-edged, covered with scarious sheaths; flowers greenish- or brownish-yellow; sepals 5-10 mm long and 2-4 mm wide; petals slightly shorter and to 1.5 mm broad, sometimes reduced, threadlike, and nearly as long as sepals; lip somewhat cordate, the claw adnate to the column and somewhat enclosing it at apex. Fruits not seen. Croat 9793. Uncommon, usually occurring rather high in trees; abundance is perhaps underestimated, since its flowers are not at all conspicuous. Flowering may occur throughout the year with the same plant producing several inflorescences; most flowers have been seen from April through November. The fruits develop rather quickly and are not often seen. A very variable species. Throughout most tropical and subtropical regions of the Western Hemisphere. In Panama, known chiefly from tropical moist forest in the Canal Zone, Bocas del Toro, and Panama; known also from premontane wet forest in Chiriqui and Panama (Cerro Campana).