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Cynorkis kassneriana Kraenzl., Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 51: 377 (1914).
Homotypic Synonyms:
Bicornella kassneeriana (Kraenzl.) Szlach. & Kras, Richardiana 6: 145 (2006).
Heterotypic Synonyms:
Cynorkis rupicola Schltr., Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 53: 490 (1915).
Cynorkis glandulosa L.Bolus, J. Bot. 66: 232 (1928), nom. illeg.
Cynorkis kassneriana subsp. tenuior Summerh., Kew Bull. 8: 129 (1953).
Description:
Tubers usually 2, up to 2.5 cm long, 1 cm in diameter, ovoid, villous. Stem 15-50 cm tall, arcuate at the base, erect above, glandular above the leaf in upper part. Leaf 1, occasionally two, basal, spread, petiolate; petiole ca. 1-4.5 cm long, narrow; blade 4-20 cm long, 1-5 cm wide, oblong-lanceolate, elliptic, acute, dark-olive green above, purple below. Cauline bracts up to 2.5 cm long, amplexicaul, acute. Inflorescence 3-12 cm long, 4-22-flowered, rather dense. Flowers resupinate, pink-purple to deep-purple with darker marks in the centre. Floral bracts 7-12 mm long, semi-scarious, ciliate along margins and sparsely glandular on outer surface near the base. Pedicel 2-5 mm long, narrow, twisted. Ovary 8-12 mm long, glandular. Dorsal sepal 5-7 mm long, 4-5 mm wide, ovate-lanceolate, deeply concave, acute, cucullate at the apex, sparsely glandular on outer surface. Petals 4.5-7.5 mm long, 2.3-2.5 mm wide, obliquely oblong-lanceolate, acute, glabrous. Lateral sepals 6-9.3 mm long, 2.5-4.3 mm wide, obliquely ovate with acute apex, spreading or deflexed. Lip 7-11 mm long, 5-8 mm wide, densely papillate, distinctly three-lobed; the middle lobe 6 mm long, 4-4.5 mm wide, ovate-lanceolate, acute, larger than lateral ones; side lobes 1.5-2 mm long, triangular-semi ovate, acute to obtuse. Spur 6-10 mm long, cylindrical with conical throat, obtuse, pendent. Gynostemium 3-3.5 mm long.
Habitat:
Mossy banks by streams, among rocks, in leaf litter, on rotting logs in forests, sometimes epiphytic on moss-covered branches or lower parts of tree trunks in upland rain-forest. Throughout the year.
Cultivation:
As given for the genus, cool to cold growing terrestrial or epiphyte.
Distribution:
The Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire), Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Republic of South Africa. 1300-2800 m.
References:
Orchidaceae of West-central Africa, vol. 1, Gdansk University Press Gdansk 2010, The Orchids of South Central Africa Williamson 1977; Flora of Tropical East Africa Part 1 Summerhayes 1968; Orchids of East Africa Piers 1968; Flora Zambesiaca Vol. 11 Part 1 Pope 1995; Orchids of Kenya Stewart 1996
Images:
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Photograph© Robert v. Blittersdorff. Image used with kind permission from African plants – A Photo Guide. www.africanplants. senckenberg.de	Photograph© Robert v. Blittersdorff. Image used with kind permission from African plants – A Photo Guide. www.africanplants. senckenberg.de	Photograph© Robert v. Blittersdorff. Image used with kind permission from African plants – A Photo Guide. www.africanplants. senckenberg.de	Photograph© Robert v. Blittersdorff. Image used with kind permission from African plants – A Photo Guide. www.africanplants. senckenberg.de	Photograph© Robert v. Blittersdorff. Image used with kind permission from African plants – A Photo Guide. www.africanplants. senckenberg.de	Photograph© Robert v. Blittersdorff. Image used with kind permission from African plants – A Photo Guide. www.africanplants. senckenberg.de	Photograph© Robert v. Blittersdorff. Image used with kind permission from African plants – A Photo Guide. www.africanplants. senckenberg.de	Photograph© Robert v. Blittersdorff. Image used with kind permission from African plants – A Photo Guide. www.africanplants. senckenberg.de

Habitat/In situ