Polystachya testuana Summerh. 1960

SECTION Affines

TYPE Collections Sheet/TYPE drawing by Summerhayes 1960 Kew's Plants of the World Website

Common Name Testu's Polystachya [Le Tetsu Collector in Africa 1900's

Flower Size

Found in Gulf of Guinea Is., Equatorial Guinea and Gabon at elevations below 500 meters as a mini-miniature, hot growing epiphyte with close set stems that are first slender and then with a very dilated upper internode, an ellipsoid to oblong-elliptic pseudobulb carrying single, apical, suberect to erect-open imbricated basally, longitudinally many ribbed, ligulate, linear-ligulate to oblanceolate-ligulate, rounded apically, shortly and slightly unequally bilobed apically, slightly coriaceous leaf that blooms in the fall on a terminal, peduncle slender, .6 to 1.2" [1.5 to 3 cm] long, smooth, shortly pubescent, rachis .8 to 2" [2 t o 5 cm] long, densely 2 to 6 flowered inflorescence with lanceolate, acuminate, shorter than the ovary floral bracts and carrying non-resupinate, erect-open, plain yellow flowers.

"This species falls into the small group in section Affines in which the uppermost or penultimate internode of each stem swells to form the pseudobulb with the result that in the matuure stem the pseudobulb is terminated by one to rarely 2 leaves, the remainder of the leaves occuring at the base in a tuft or being spaced out along the almost unthickened lower part of the stem. In the other species of the section the lowest internode [or internodes] of the stem forms the pseudobulb and and consequently there are several leaves on the upper part of the stem above the swollen pseudobulb. It is close to P camarioides but differs in the narrower leaves, the longer simple inflorescence, the somewhat larger flowers, the less acuminate sepals, the oblonceolate petals amnd the narrower labellum." Summerhayes 1960" Summerhayes 1958

SynonymsReferences W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;

* Kew Bull. 14: 136 Summerhayes 1960

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