Platycoryne brevirostris Summerh., Kew Bull. 13: 68 (1958).
Description:
Terrestrial herb 15–30 cm tall; tubers 10–15 × 6–10 mm, ovoid or ellipsoid, sparsely tomentose. Leaves 5–8, the lowermost sheathing with 2–4 suberect leaves clustered above these, up to 5 × 0.4 cm, linear or linear-lanceolate, acute; the remaining 2–3 spaced along the stem. Inflorescence 1.5–6 cm long, laxly 2–7-flowered.Flowers orange or yellow-green, suberect. Ovary and pedicel 15–20 mm long; bracts 7–17 mm long. Dorsal sepal erect, 4.5–5 × 3 mm, elliptic, slightly incurved; lateral sepals 5–6 × 2–2.5 mm, obliquely elliptic-oblong. Petals erect, c. 4.5 × 1.5 mm, curved lanceolate-ligulate, adnate to dorsal sepal. Lip deflexed or slightly incurved, 3-lobed at about halfway, 3.7–5 mm long, 2 mm wide across lobes; mid-lobe 2–4 × 1 mm, side lobes 0.2–1.2 × 0.3 mm; spur 15–18 mm long, slightly swollen at apex. Anther 3–4 mm high; canals 2.5 mm long. Stigmatic arms c. 1.5 mm long. Rostellum 2.5 mm long; mid-lobe c. 0.4 mm high; side lobes 1 mm long, relatively long and narrow.
Habitat:
Dambo and granite outcrops, in marshy ground over late rite or rock
Notes:
This species resembles Platycoryne trilobata but has smaller flowers.
Distribution:
Angola to Zambia