Disperis nemorosa Rendle, J. Bot. 33: 297 (1895).
Heterotypic Synonyms:
Disperis centrocorys Schltr., Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 53: 549 (1915).
Description:
Terrestrial herb 10–30 cm tall; tubers 1–2.5 × 0.8–1 cm, ovoid or globose. Leaves 2, subopposite, glossy bright green, sessile or with a very short petiole, 2.5–6.5 × 2–4 cm, ovate, sheathing at base. Inflorescence 1–4-flowered. Flowers white or bright magenta-pink with lilac spur, sweetly violet-scented in the evening. Ovary and pedicel 15–20 mm long; bracts leaf-like, of similar length. Dorsal sepal joined with petals to form a slender spur c. 10 mm long from top of ovary to apex of spur, 12 mm long from apex of spur to front margin of dorsal sepal. Lateral sepals projecting forwards in same plane as the spur, 6–8 × 4–5 mm, obliquely oblong, obtuse, almost free, each with small sac 1–1.5 mm long. Petals adnate to dorsal sepal, auriculate at base. Lip with a slender claw 9–12 mm long, reaching the spur apex, then doubled back for 1.5–2 mm, with a long appendage arising at the point of reflexion and reaching the open end of the spur. Appendage linear-oblanceolate, growing wider towards bifid apex, with pair of obtuse lobes c. 1 mm long just before the apex.
Habitat:
In leaf litter in deep shade in evergreen forests and bamboo forests from about 1800 to 2550 m.
Phenology:
Flowering mainly from February to April in south-central Africa, and up to September in East Africa.
Distribution:
E. & S. Trop. Africa
References:
A synopsis of the genus Disperis Sw. (Orchidaceae), ADANSONIA, sér. 3 - 2005 - 27 (2) : 155-207; Flora of Tropical Africa, Vol 7, page 12, (1898) Author: (By R. A. Rolfe.); A Key to the East African Species of Disperis (Orchidaceae) with Two New Species B. Verdcourt, Kew Bulletin, Vol. 41, No. 1 (1986), pp. 51-57; CONTRIBUTION À L'ÉTUDE DES ORCHIDACEAE DU BURUNDI (PREMIÈRE PARTIE) M. ARBONNIER, Belgian Journal of Botany, Vol. 126, Fasc. 2 (1993), pp. 253-261; La Croix, I. & Cribb, P.J. (1995). Orchidaceae (Part 1) Flora Zambesiaca 11(1); La Croix, I. et al. (1991). Orchids of Malawi A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam; Stewart, J. & Campbell, B. (1996). Orchids of Kenya Timber Press Inc, Portland Oregon,
Images:
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| Habitat/In situ |
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| Photograph© E.Tanner @ Swiss Orchid Foundation at the Herbarium Jany Renz Image used with kind permission. |
