Polystachya malilaensis Schltr. 1915 SECTION Affines

Photo by Tudor Harwood © and JSTOR Plant Sciences Website

LATE EARLY

Common Name The Mt. Umalila Polystachya [An Area of Tanzania]

Flower Size

Found in Zaire, Angola, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe in montane evergreen forests and high rainfall woodlands at elevations around 1200 to 2300 meters as a miniature sized, cool to cold growing epiphyte and occasional lithophyte with ovate to conical, green to reddish pseudobulbs carrying 2 to 3, lanceolate, oblong-lanceolate to oblanceolate, often red tinged or with a purple margin leaves that blooms in the late spring and early summer on an erect, minutely pubescent, to 6" [15 cm] long, fairly densely to 20 flowered inflorescence.

Synonyms Polystachya zambesiaca var. malilaensis (Schltr.) Geerinck 1992

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; The Epiphytic Orchids of Malawi Morris 1970 drawing good; The Orchids of South Central Africa Williamson 1977 drawing ok; Malawi Orchids vol 1 La Croix 1983 drawing ok; Flora of Tropical East Africa Vol 2 Cribb 1984; Flora Zambesiaca Vol 11 OrchidaceaePart 2 Pope 1998; Orchidaceae of West Central Africa Vol 2 Szlach. etal 2015 drawing good;

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