Tridactyle inflata Summerh. 1948

Collection Sheet by W M Moreau drawings by Summerhayes and Kew's Plants of the World Website

Common Name The Inflated Tridactyle

Flower Size

Found in Tanzania on thorn and combretum trees heavily draped in moss and lichen and subject to morning mists at elevations around 1800 meters as a miniature to just small sized, cool growing epiphyte with caespitose, apically foliate stems carrying lightly longitudinally ribbed, lightly rugose, ligulate, lightly recurved, unequally bilobed, lobules obtusely long-denticulate, deep, dark glossy green leaves that blooms in the winter on a thin, short, to .4" [1 cm] long, 3 flowered inflorescence with shortly ovate-cupped, much shorter than the ovary floral bracts and carrying slightly fragrant, pale sea green flowers with an orange column.

"In general habit and in the inflorescence this is clearly related to T stipulata but differs in the swollen spur and shape of the lip. This latter organ has a small triangular auricle on each side at the base and is then cuneately or flabellately widened to form an approximately obtriangular lamina which is more or less truncate in front. The anticous margin is divided to form three rather indistinct lobes of which the central one is broadly triangular and rather longer tyhan the others. On each side of the central lobe the margin is irregularly divided in a comb-like manner with the outside divisions being the longest, and the whole forming the side lobes. About 11 more or less parallel nerves run down into the lamina of the lip." Summerhayes 1948

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;

* Kew Bull. 3: 291 Summerhayes 1948

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