Habenaria pratensis (Lindl.) Rchb.f. 1850 SECTION Pratensis TYPE for this section
Photo by © Luiz Aquino Silva Santos and El Genero Habenaria em Sergipe, Brazil Website
Photos and Collection sheet by © Jany Renz and The Swiss Orchid Foundation at the Jany Renz Herbaria Website
Drawing by © Hoehne
Common Name The Prata Habenaria [A town in Goias state of Brazil]
Flower Size .88" [2.2 cm]
Found in French Guiana and northeastern Brazil in savannas at elevations of 2 to 10 meters as a medium sized, hot growing terrestrial with an erect stem carrying 6 to 9, linear-lanceolate, 3 conspicuous nerved, conduplicate, acute to acuminate, basally clasping, decreasing in size upwards, the middle and upper bract-like, gray green leaves that blooms in the spring on a terminal, erect, 7" [17.5 cm] long, subdensely, 4 to 10 flowered inflorescence with erect, membraneous, oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, shorter tha the ovary floral bracts and carrying somewhat showy, golden yellow to orange yellow, fragrant flowers.
Separable from most fairly easily by the lip lobes that are more or less oblanceolate, but reminds one of but are disztinguished by the width/length ratio of the petals and lip lobes. The lip middle lobe of H pratensis is .52 x .184" [13 mm x 4.6 mm] versus .44 to .52 x .2 to .4" [11 to 13 x 5 to 10 mm] and the anterior petal lobe is .32 to .4" [8 to 10 mm] long and up to .04" [1 mm] wide versus .44 to .56 x .04 to .064" [11 to 14 x 1 to 1.6 mm].
Synonyms *Bonatea pratensis Lindl. 1835; Orchis pratensis Salzm. ex Lindl. 1835;
Rhinorchis pratensis (Lindl.) Szlach. & Kolan. 2017
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
Gen. Sp. Orchid. Pl.: 328 Lindley 1835 as Bonetea pratensis;
