Habenaria lithophila Schltr.1915 SECTION Diphyllae Kraenzl 1892
Photo by © Lourens Grobler
Photo courtesy of © Swiss Orchid Foundation at the Herbarium Jany Renz
Common Name The Rock-Loving Habenaria
Flower Size .6" [1.5cm]
Found in Zaire, Tanzania, Malawi, Lesotho, Cape Province Natal, Orange Free State and Transvaal South Africa in stony ground grasslands at elevations of 800 to 2800 meters as a miniature to small sized, warm to cold growing terrestrial with ellipsoid, tomentose tubers giving rise to an erect, slender to rather stout stem with 2 large, ovate to nearly reniform, apiculate to rounded, slightly cordate basally rather fleshy basal leaves and numerous [5 to 50] smaller and narrower, lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, acuminate, adpressed to the stem upper leaves that blooms in the summer on a 1.6" to 5.6" long, densely 10 to 30 flowered inflorescence
Synonyms Habenaria arachnoides MacOwan ex Kraenzl. 1893; Habenaria bolusiana Schltr. 1924; Habenaria macowaniana Kraenzl. 1893; Habenaria petri Schltr. 1924
References W3 Tropicos,Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 16: 156 MacOwan ex Kraenzl 1892 as Habenaria arachnoides not validly publ.;
Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 16: 150 Kraenzlin 1892 as H macowaniana nom. illeg
* Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 53: 504 Schlechter 1915
Ann. Transvaal Mus. 10: 244 Schlechter 1924 as Habenaria bolusiana
Ann. Transvaal Mus. 10: 245 Schlechter 1924 as Habenaria petri
The Orchids of South Central Africa Williamson 1977;
Wild Orchids of Southern Africa Stewart, Linder, Schelpe & Hall 1982 photo fide;
Flore D'Afrique Centrale [Zaire- Rwands - Burundi] Orhidaceae Premeir parte Geerink 1984;
Flora of Tropical East Africa Part 1 Summerhayes 1968;
Flora Zambesiaca Vol 11 Part 1 Pope 1995;
Orchids of Southern Africa Linder & Kurzweil 1999 drawing/photo fide;
Field Guide to the Orchids of Northern South Africa and Swaziland McMurty, Grobler, Grobler & Burns 2008 photo fide;
The Cape Orchids Vol 1 Liltved & Johnson 2012 photo fide;
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
