Habenaria praecox Lavarack & A.W.Dockrill 1999 SECTION Macroceratitis Kraenzl
Photo by © Lavarack/TYPE Drawing by © Lavarack & Dockrill
LATE
EARLY
Common Name The Early Habenaria - In Australia the Early Rein Orchid
Flower Size .32 to .4" [.8 to 1 cm]
Found in Queensland of Australia in sparse lowland woodlands among grasses and sedge at elevations below 100 meters as a medium to large sized, hot growing terrestrial with 2 oblong to ellipsoid tubers giving rise to an erect stem carrying 2 to 4 basal, erect,narrowly oblong to narrowly obovate, canaliculate, acuminate to acute, green leaves that blooms in the late spring and early summer on a terminal, erect, provided with 2 to 6, subulate, cauline bracts, 8 to 20" [20 to 50 cm] long, moseratetly dense to rather sparse, often irregularly arranged 3 to 35 flowered inflorescence with half as long as the ovary floral bracts and carrying white flowers with the dorsal sepal often green.
"This species has been confused with H ochroleuca but easily distinguished by the downwards directed lateral lobes of the lip versus prominently upturned, a spur about as long as the midlobe of the lip versus about twice as long as the midlobe of the lip and carrying 2 to 4 basal leaves versus leaves reduces to sheathing bracts along the stem." Also confused with H propinquior but the lateral lobes of the lip are filiform and curved upwards, while they are broader and trenddownwards in H praecox. Also confused with H xanthantha but it has either no spur at all or a spur shorter than the mid lobe of the lip and the lateral lobes are not distinct as they are in H praecox and H propinquior; often being reduced to small bumps on the side of the mid-libe." Lavarack & A.W.Dockrill 1999
Synonyms Pecteilis praecox (Lavarack & A.W.Dockrill) M.A.Clem. & D.L.Jones 2018
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
* Austrobaileya 5: 331 Lavarack & A W Dockrill 1999
Botanica's Orchids Laurel Glen 2002 Photo good;
Native Orchids of Australia Jones 2006 photo fide;
Austral. Orchid Rev. 83(6): 51 M.A.Clem. & D.L.Jones 2018
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