Habenaria petitiana (A.Rich.) T.Durand & Schinz 1894 SECTION Pseudoperistylus P F Hunt TYPE for this section
Photos courtesy of © Swiss Orchid Foundation at the Herbarium Jany Renz
Lax, very small flowered version
Photo by © Lourens Grobler, J Burrows and S Burns
Holotype collection sheet and Drawing
Holotype collection sheet and Drawing by © Summerhayes
Common Name Petit's Habenaria [French Collector of species 1800's]
Flower Size 1/2" [1.25 cm]
Found in Cameroon, Zaire, Burundia, Rwanda, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Natal and Transvaal South Africa in short grasslands, among scrub or at the forests edge at elevations of 1700 to 3150 meters as a giant sized, cool to cold growing terrestrial with an ellipsoid tuber giving rise to an erect, leafy stem carrying 5 to 9, lowest 2 sheathing, all others ovate, acute often undulate margins, basally clasping leaves that blooms in the summer on an erect, 2 to 8" [5 to 20 cm] long, laxly to fairly densely many flowered inflorescence with lanceolate, acute, longer than the ovary floral bracts and carrying fragrant flowers
In all the references I have there seems to be two species described here. In the ones marked fide [Photos courtesy of Swiss Orchid Foundation]in the reference file below the inflorescence is densely many flowered with wide open sepals. The ones marked no [Photo by Grobler etal] have a lax, very small flowered inflorescence with very closed flowers and seems to be what was H brachylobos. They both have the same lip.I await more information. Use with caution.
Synonyms Habenaria brachylobos (Summerh.) Summerh.1933; Habenaria microrhynchos Schltr. 1895; Herminium natalense Rchb.f. 1881; Herminium steudneri Rchb.f. 1881; Montolivaea petitiana (A.Rich.) Szlach. 2001; Peristylus brachylobos Summerh. 1931; Peristylus natalensis (Rchb.f.) Rolfe 1912; *Peristylus petitianus A.Rich.1840; Peristylus snowdenii Rolfe 1918; Peristylus steudneri (Rchb.f.) Rolfe 1898; Peristylus ugandensis Rolfe 1918; Peristylus volkensianus (Kraenzl.) Rolfe 1898; Platanthera natalensis (Rchb.f.) Schltr. 1890; Platanthera petitiana (A.Rich.) Engl. 1892; Platanthera volkensiana Kraenzl. 1895; Pseudoperistylus petitianus (A.Rich.) Szlach. & Olszewski 1998
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
Ann. Sci. Nat., Bot., sér. 2, 14: 266 A Rich 1840 as Peristylus petitianus
Otia Botanica Hamburgensia: 108 Rchb.f 1881 as Herminium natalense;
Otia Botanica Hamburgensia: 108 Rchb.f 1881 as Herminium steudneri
Abh. Königl. Akad. Wiss. Berlin 1891: 179 Engl 1892 as Platanthera petitiana
* Consp. Fl. Afric. 5: 83 T.Durand & Schinz 1894
Beibl. Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 50: 6 Schlechter 1895 as Platanthera natalensis
Beibl. Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 50: 36 Schlechter 1895 as Habenaria microrhynchos;
Pflanzenw. Ost-Afrikas, C: 151 Kraenzlin 1895 as Platanthera volkensiana
Fl. Trop. Afr. 7: 200 Rolfe 1898 as Peristylus steudneri
Fl. Trop. Afr. 7: 199 Rolfe 1898 as Peristylus volkensianus
Fl. Cap. 5(3): 115 Rolfe 1912 as Peristylus natalensis
Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew 1918: 237 Rolfe 1918 as Peristylus snowdenii
Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew 1918: 237 Rolfe 1918 as Peristylus ugandensis
Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew 1931: 382 Summerhayes 1931 as Peristylus brachylobos
Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew 1933: 248 Summerhayes 1933 as H brachylobos;
Encyclopedia of Cultivated Orchids Hawkes 1965 as Peristylus steudneri;
Encyclopedia of Cultivated Orchids Hawkes 1965 as Peristylus volkensianus;
Encyclopedia of Cultivated Orchids Hawkes 1965 as Peristylus petianus;
Orchids of East Africa Piers 1968 no;
Flora of Tropical East Africa Part 1 Summerhayes 1968;
Rudolf Schlechter Die Orchideen 3 Auflage Bd 1 Sonderabdruck aus Schlechter Lieferung 4 193 to 256 Brieger, Maatsch and Senghas 1973 as Peristylus brachylobos;
The Orchids of South Central Africa Williamson 1977 drawing hmm;
Wild Orchids of Southern Africa Stewart, Linder, Schelpe & Hall 1982;
Flore D'Afrique Centrale [Zaire- Rwands - Burundi] Orhidaceae Premeir parte Geerink 1984 as H brachylobos;
Flore D'Afrique Centrale [Zaire- Rwands - Burundi] Orhidaceae Premeir parte Geerink 1984;
Orchids of Kenya Stewart & Campbell 1996;
Flora Zambesiaca Volume 11 Part one Pope 1998;
Fl. Cameroun 34: 213 Szlach 1998 as Pseudoperistylus petitianus
Orchids of Southern Africa Linder & Kurzweil 1999;
Rudolf Schlechter Die Orchideen Band 1C lieferung 40 pg 2492 - 2564 Brieger 2000 as Pseudoperistylus petitianus drawing ok;
Polish Bot. J. 46: 129 Szlach 2001 as Montolivaea petitiana;
Field Guide to Ethiopian Orchids Demissew, Cribb and Rasmussen 2004 photo fide;
Field Guide to the Orchids of Northern South Africa and Swaziland McMurty, Grobler, Grobler & Burns 2008 photo no;
Terrestrial African Orchids, A select Review John S. Ball 2009 drawing no;
Orchidaceae of West Central Africa Vol 1: 286 Szlatchecko etal 2010 as Montolivaea petitiana drawing fide
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