Habenaria humilior Rchb.f. 1881 SECTION Replicatae Kraenzl.
Inflorescence Photos by © Lourens Grobler
Drawing Drawing by © Graham Williamson
Common Name The Very Modest Habenaria
Flower Size 3/4" [2 cm]
Found in the Congo, Zaire, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Transvaal South Africa in short grasslands on poor soils at elevations of 1200 to 2400 meters over rocks as a small to large sized, cool to cold growing terrestrial with globose, ellipisoid to ovoid tubers giving rise to an erect, rather stout, leafy throughout stem carrying 7 to 13, the lowermost 2 as sheaths, the middle 4 to 7 suberect to spreading, lanceolate to linear, acute leaves and the uppermost few are adpressed to the stem as leaf-like bracts and blooms in the spring, summer and fall on a 2 to 10 " [5 to 25 cm] long, laxly to densely 6 to many flowered, racemose infloresence
"Apparently related to H huillensis but the floral bracts are shorter than the pedcel and ovary, both anterior petal lobes are about twice longer than the posterior and the stigmaphores are .12 to .2" [3 to 5 mml long." Szlatchecko etal 2010
Synonyms Bilabrella hochstetteriana (Kraenzl. & Schltr.) Szlach. & Kras. 2009; Bilabrella humilior (Rchb.f.) Szlach. & Kras-Lap. 2003; Bilabrella pseudokaessneriana Szlach. & Kras 2009; Bilabrella rehmannii (Bolus) Szlach. & Kras. 2006; Bilabrella replicata Szlach. & Kras 2009; Bilabrella tetrapetaloides (Schltr.) Szlach. & Kras 2006; Habenaria culiciflora Rendle 1895; Habenaria hochstetteriana Kraenzl. 1893; Habenaria kassneriana Kraenzl. 1929; Habenaria rehmannii Bolus 1889; Habenaria replicata Hochst. ex A.Rich. 1850; Habenaria tetrapetaloides Schltr. 1895
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
Tent. Fl. Abyss. 2: 296 Hochst. ex A.Rich. 1850 as H replicata nom. illeg.
* Otia Botanica Hamburgensia Rchb.f 1881;
J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 25: 169 Bolus 1889 as H rehmanii drawing fide;
Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 16: 73 Kraenzlin 1892 as Habenaria hochstetteriana
Beibl. Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 50: 34 Schlechter 1895 as H tetrapetalioids;
J. Bot. 33: 278 Rendle 1895 as H culiciflora;
Studies in the Family Orchidaceae Vol 4: 262 Ames 1910 as H replicata;
Vierteljahrsschr. Naturf. Ges. Zürich 74: 104 Kraenzlin 1929 as H kassneriana nom. illeg.;
Orchids of East Africa Piers 1968 photo hmm;
The Orchids of South Central Africa Williamson 1977 drawing fide;
Wild Orchids of Southern Africa Stewart, Linder, Schelpe & Hall 1982 as H rehmannii;
Flora of Tropical East Africa Part 1 Summerhayes 1968;
Flora Zambesiaca Vol 11 Part 1 Pope 1995;
Orchids of Southern Africa Linder & Kurzweil 1999 drawing fide;
Richardiana 3: 140 Szlach. & Kras-Lap.2003 as Bilabrella humilior Richardiana 3: 158 Szlach. & Kras-Lap 2003 as Bilabrella culcifera with incorrect basionym ref.; Field Guide to the Ethiopian Orchids Demissew, Cribb & Rasmussen 2004 drawing/photo fide; Richardiana 6: 197 Szlach. & Kras-Lap 2006 as Bilabrella rehmannii; Richardiana 6: 197 Szlach. & Kras-Lap 2006 as Bilabrella tetrapetaloides; Field Guide to the Orchids of Northern South Africa and Swaziland McMurty, Grobler, Grobler & Burns 2008 photo fide; Richardiana 9: 158 Szlach. & Kras-Lap2009 as Bilabrella hochstetteriana Richardiana 9: 159 Szlach. & Kras-Lap 2009 as Bilabrella pseudokaessneriana; Richardiana 9: 159 Szlach. & Kras-Lap 2009 as Bilabrella replicata; Terrestrial African Orchids, A select Review John S. Ball 2009 drawing fide; Orchidaceae of West Central Africa Vol 1: 235 Szlatchecko etal 2010 as Bilabrella humilior drawing fide
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