Nervilia shirensis (Rolfe) Schltr. 1911 SECTION Nervilia

Photo © by Renz and Swiss Orchid Foundation at the Jany Renz Herbaria

Plant and Flower in situ Zambia Photo © by P. Linder and Swiss Orchid Foundation at the Jany Renz Herbaria

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Common Name The Shire Highlands Nervilia [An area of Malawi]

Flower Size 1.2" [3 cm]

Found in Sierra Leone? Central African Republic, Zaire, Burundi, Chad, Tanzania, Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe in high rainfall Brachystegia woodlands, riverine forests, grasslands and in pine plantations at elevations around 480 to 1950 meters as a small to medium szied, hot to cool growing terrestrial with a subspherical to ovoid, 4 to 7 noded tuber with a single, arising after flowering, erect to suberect, ovate to almost round, glabrous, pleated, obtuse to acute to slightly acuminate, attenuate to truncate to cordate into the petiolate base leaf that blooms in the later spring and summer on an erect, 6 to 16" [15 to 40 cm] long, terete, 1 to 3 flowered inflorescence

Synonyms Nervilia buchananii (Rolfe) Schltr. 1911; Pogonia buchananii Rolfe 1897; *Pogonia shirensis Rolfe 1897;

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Die Orchideen Schlechter 1915 as N buchannanii; AOS Bulletin Vol 32 # 10 1963; The Orchids of South Central Africa Williamson 1977; Flora of Tropical East Africa Part 2 Cribb 1984 drawing leaf only; Orchids of the Central African Republic a Provisional Checklist Cribb & Fay 1986; Orchid Monographs 5 Petterson 1991 drawing/photo fide; Flora Zambesiaca Vol 11 Orchidaceae Part 1 Pope 1995 drawing fide;

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