Habenaria gonatosiphon Summerh. 1960 SECTION Ceratopetalae Kraenzl.
Photos by © Robert v. Blittersdorff and The East African Plants Website
Drawing by © Margaret Stones
Common Name The Bent Spur Habenaria
Flower Size 1" [2.5 cm]
Found in Zaire, Tanzania, Malawi and Zambia in usually boggy grasslands at elevations of 950 to 2200 meters as a small to large sized, warm to cold growing terrestrial with ovoid, ellipsoid to elongate-conical, sparsely tomentose tubers giving rise to an erect, rather slender, leafy throughout the length stem carrying 5 to 10, lowermost sheathlike, becoming suberect, ovate to lanceolate, acute and larger in the middle and grading smaller towards the apex leaves that blooms in the early summer on an erect, 1.2 to 5.6" [3 to 14 cm] long, fairly lax to dense, 2 mto 10 flowered inflorescence with similar to the leaves floral bracts that are shorter than the pedicel and carrying white to occasionally green tinted flowers.
"This attractive species is of special interest because it combines in certain respects the characters of the 2 sections Certopetalae and Macrurae. In general appearance the plant is reminiscent of species such as H. clavata in sect. Ceratopetalae the anterior petal-lobe though relatively shorter than in these species, being quite fleshy and considerably longer than the posterior lobe. The stigmata, though capitate as in sect. Ceratopetalae, are much shorter and thicker and in this feature resemble those in sect. Macrura. Another respect in which H gonatosiphon approaches this latter section is in the relatively broad labellum-segments, which though not so petaloid as in H walleri for example, are broader than in most members of the setion Ceratopetalae. The species may be recognized from other similar looking species by the curious knee-like bend in the spur, the specific epithet being derived from that character .From the base the spur is strongly incurved in the basal third so that it lies beneath and more or less parallel to the middle lobe of the labellum. Beyond this it is strongly recurved in a knee-like manner, the remainder of the spur being nearly straight or slightly curved forward or backwards. The anterior petal lobes and labellum are white or cream colored while the sepals and spur are more or less tinged greenish." Summerhayes 1960
Synonyms Macrura gonatosiphon (Summerh.) Szlach. & Sawicka 2003
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
* Kew Bull. 14: 134 Summerhayes 1960
Flora of Tropical East Africa Orchidaceae Part 1 Summerhayes 1968;
The Orchids of South Central Africa Williamson 1977 drawing fide;
Flore D'Afrique Centrale [Zaire- Rwands - Burundi] Orhidaceae Premeir parte Geerink 1984;
Flora Zambesiaca Vol 11 Part 1 Pope 1995 drawing fide;
Orchidee (Hamburg) 54: 332 Szlach. & Sawicka 2003 as Macrura gonatosiphon;
Orchidaceae of West Central Africa Vol 1 Szlatchecko etal 2010 as Macrura gonatosiphon drawing fide
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