Habenaria aberrans Schltr. 1915 SECTION Diphyllae
Photos by © TC Buruwate and the Orchids of Malawi Website
TYPE Drawing by © Schlechter
Common Name The Aberrant Habenaria
Flower Size
Found in Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbawe in open woodlands in sand and on small inselbergs at elevations around 450 to 1250 meters as a small to medium sized, warm to cool growing terrestrial with ovoid to elliptic, densely tomentose tubers giving rise to an erect, slender, terete, densely pubescent stem with a basal sheath and a 3 to 4 bract-like leaves scattered along its length and carrying adpressed to the soil, a broadly ovate to reniform to orbicular, basally cordate, apiculate apically, glabrous with a few scattered hairs on top, densely ciliate on the edge, dark green mottled with white leaf that blooms in the summer on a .8 to 2.8" [2 to 7 cm] long, rachis pubescent, rather close set, 4 to 11 flowered inflorescence with lanceolate, acute, pubescent, shorter than the pedicel floral bracts and carrying non-resupinate flowers
Synonyms Schlechterorchis aberrans (Schltr.) Szlach. 2003
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
* Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 53: 505 Schlechter 1915
Flora of Tropical East Africa Summerhayes 1968;
Flora Zambesiaca Vol 11 Part One Cribb & La Croix 1995;
Orchidee (Hamburg) 54: 219 Szlachetko 2003 as Schlechterorchis aberrans
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