Habenaria torricellensis Schltr. 1905 SECTION Acuiferae
Photo courtesy of © Swiss Orchid Foundation at the Herbarium Jany Renz
Common Name The Torricelli Habenaria [Coastal Mountain Range in New Guinea]
Flower Size
Found in New Guinea in humus in rainforest, occasional on muddy banks of streams at elevations of 700 meters as a medium to large sized, warm growing terrestrial with 2 to 5, erect-patent, oblanceolate, acute to acuminate leaves and 2 to 3, lanceolate, acuminate, sterile bracts that blooms in the fall on an erect, 16 to 24" [40 to 60 cm] long, laxly to 15 flowered inflorescence with ovate, acuminate, less than half as long as the ovary floral bracts and carrying green flowers.
"Habenaria torricellensis has somewhat larger flowers than other species of this group, i.e. H. bougainvilleae, H. retroflexa and H. rechingeri. Its sepals are more than .38" [9.5 mm] long, whereas in the aforementioned species they are less than .36" [9 mm] long. Additionally, the lateral sepals of H. torricellensis and H. bougainvilleae are obliquely obovate to obovate-oblanceolate or obovate-triangular, widest above the middle, but in the latter the upper margin of lateral sepals is minutely ciliolate." Kolanowska etal 2021
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos,Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Orchidaceae of German New Guinea Schlechter 1912/1985 drawing fide; A Guide to the Monocotyledons of Papua New Guinea Part 4 Orchidaceae [in Part] Howcroft 1984; Checklist of Papusian Orchids Ormerod 2017;
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