Habenaria elatius Ridl. 1912

Photo by © Eric Hunt

Common Name The Forest Loving Habenaria

Flower Size small

Found in Sarawak Borneo in lowlands at elevations of of 200 to 500 meters as a medium to just large sized, hot growing epiphyte with stout, wooly roots giving rise to an erect, 4" [10 cm] long, stem carrying 8, oblanceolate, acuminate, acute, gradually narrowing below intothe base with a prominent keel, widest part towards the apex leaves that blooms in the fall on an erect, to 20" [50 cm] long, peduncle basally naked, distantly to 30 flowered inflorescence with lowest bracts lanceolate-acuminate, caudate, .75" [1.75 cm] long, uppermost ovate-acuminate, .25" [5.2 mm] long, shorter than the ovary floral bracts.

CAUTION I have no way of verifying this determination myself as there are no drawings available to me. All references cite the type only and no other collections, seems bizarre that Eric Hunt was able to photograph this orchid as a landscape plant at a Bornean National Park. Odd but not impossible. Eric had Jeffery Woods confirm the ID for him so I am sure that he has it right.

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;

* Sarawak Mus. J. 1(2): 37 Ridley 1912;

A Checklist of the Orchids of Borneo Wood & Cribb 1994; Orchids of Sarawak Beaman, Wood & Beaman etal 2001;

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------