Habenaria stylites Rchb.f. & S.Moore 1878

SECTION Diphyllae Kraenzl 1892

Plant In Situ Zimbabwe Photos by Marc Hyde, Courtesy of Bart Wursten ©, and his Flora Of Zimbabwe WebSite

Common Name The Flag-Like Habenaria

Flower Size 1.3" [3.2 cm]

Found in Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe in grasslands at forest edges and glade at elevations of 100 to 1600 meters as a small to medium sized, hot to coolgrowing terrestrial orchid with an erect stem with 2, large, adpressed to ground, opposite, ovate to reniform, fleshy, cauline leaves and smaller ones above along the stem that blooms in the winter on an erect, terminal, [3 to 16 cm] long, 3 to many flowered inflorescence carrying fragrant flowers.

Synonyms Arachnaria stylites (Rchb.f. & S.Moore) Szlach. 2003; Habenaria aequatorialis Rendle 1895; Habenaria johnsonii Rolfe 1898; Habenaria narcissiflora Kraenzl. 1901; Habenaria stylites subsp. johnsonii (Rolfe) Summerh. 1964; Habenaria stylites subsp. rhodesiaca Summerh. 1964

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; AOS Bulletin Vol 47 No 10 1978 as H stylites ssp rhodesica photo fide; Flora of Tropical East Africa Part 1 Summerhayes 1968; The Orchids of South Central Africa Williamson 1977 drawing hmm; Flora Zambesiaca Vol 11 Part 1 Pope 1995; Orchids of Kenya Stewart 1996

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