Habenaria crocodilium Hermans 2021
Photo by © Mag Izouard / TYPE Drawing by © Judy Stone and Kew Bull. 76: 47 J Hermans 2021
Common Name The Crocodile-Like Habenaria [the column and dorsal sepal resemble a head of a crocodile, also the numerous teeth on the flowers and ovary and the fact that the species has been found in a crocodile enclosure]
Flower Size 1" [2.5 cm]
Found in Toamasina province of Madagascar in humid evergreen forests on riverbanks and in wet areas at elevations around 950 meters as a small to medium sized without the inflorescence, warm growing terrestrial with 2 ellipsoid, hirsute tubers an erect, simple, with 3 to 4 leaf-like sheaths along its length dividing it into short segments, becoming progressively larger towards the apex stem and carrying 3 to 5, spreading, spiraqlly arranged along the stem forming an apical crown, lanceolate, somewhat fleshy, attenuate, subcordate at the base, shortly petiolate, somewhat serrate along the margins, darker along the veins leaves that blooms in the winter on a terminal, erect, peduncle to 4" [10 cm] long, provided with 1 to 2 ovate sheaths, attenuate, subcordate basally, hirsute, rachis to 6" [15 cm] long, laxly 15 flowered inflorescence.
"Distinguished as a tall plant with spirally arranged leaves forming an apical crown, and having an inflorescnece borne on a short peduncle with denticulate floral bracts and flowers that are large for the genus in Madagascar. The flowers have denticulate ovarian ridges, bifid petals with equal lobes, alip with three equal descending lobes, a slightly flattened clavate spur shorter than the pedicellate ovary and a long and strongly upturnes anther channels. Somewhat similar to , H cirrhata and H clavata but H crocidilium has an apical cluster of leaves and larger flowers while the others have leaves along the stem and flowers half the size." J Hermans 2021
Synonyms
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
* Kew Bull. 76: 47 J Hermans 2021 Photo/drawing fide
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
