Epiphyte. Rhizome absent. Pseudo-bulbs narrowly ovoid, compressed, less than 3 cm, obliquely and alternately arranged, sub-imbricate, wrinkled. Leaf linear-oblong, tapering to each end, sessile, fleshy. Both pseudo-bulbs and leaves are brownish red tinged. Flowers very small and solitary, dull brown coloured, on very short pedicels from the bases of pseudo-bulbs. Sepals un-equal and with ciliolate margins, the dorsal ovate-lanceolate, blunt, spreading; the lateral pair slightly longer. Petals broadly ovate, with obtuse apices. Lip oblong lanceolate, slightly deflexed from the base, flat.
This species is named after J.L.Lister of the Bhotan Cinchona Association who discovered it. The authors, Sir George King and Robert Pantling described this species as “the most curious” of the whole Bulbophyllum genus.
The Pursuit
One has to put extra ordinary efforts to find “the most curious” ones. The leaf and pseudo-bulb’s tinge and the bulb arrangements of this species are very unique, which will help us to locate it. However, the search for this took several months without any success. I showed the colour drawings of Robert Pantling to a lot of local people to enquire if anybody had seen some plants like this somewhere, but in vain. I was not able to find the species in 2011, however in the early 2012, a trip was made to look for some other plants which I had spotted in my previous surveys. On the way back through the right bank of a small stream, I found some medium sized trees with some local climbers in flowers. Viewed them with my binoculars for a much closer view. Suddenly my eyes got locked to a pendulous bunch of some orchid species….. the view was not clear to do proper identification from the spot I was standing. Decided to have a closer look, crossed the river with the help of a few fallen bamboos and climbed up the hill and the tree to find a huge cluster of Bulbophyllum tortuosum (Blume) Lindl, in buds and in flowers. I have no words to explain my joy, I was really jumping up and down on top of that tree!!! Came down the tree, took camera and flashes up the tree and produced this beautiful photograph.