Disa perplexa H.P.Linder 1981 SECTION Micranthae
Photos courtesy of © Swiss Orchid Foundation at the Herbarium Jany Renz and their Website
LATE 
EARLY 
Common Name The Perplexing Disa
Flower Size 3/8" [1.1 cm]
Found in Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Transvaal South Africa in wet grasslands as a medium to large sized, warm to cool growing terrestrial with imbricate, cauline, lanceolate, acute leaves that blooms in the late spring and early summer on an erect, terminal, to 10" [to 25 cm] long, cylindric, densely many flowered inflorescence with narrowly ovate to lanceolate, acuminate, exceeding the flowers floral bnracts
Similar to D hircicornis but this one differs in the elliptic-spathulate lip and the shorter lateral sepals and flowers with white and green spotted with maroon. D hircicornis has a narrowly oblong lip, longer lateral sepals and the flowers are reddish purple to dusty mauve and are usually unspotted.
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Flora Zambesiaca Vol 11 Orchidaceae Part 1 Pope 1995 photo fide; The Orchids of Kenya Stewart & Campbell 1996; Field Guide to the Orchids of Northern South Africa and Swaziland McMurty, Grobler, Grobler & Burns 2008 photos fide; Terrestrial African Orchids, A select Review John S. Ball 2009 drawing fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 84 #10 2015 photo fide;
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