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Brachycorythis lastii Rolfe in D.Oliver & auct. suc. (eds.), Fl. Trop. Afr. 7: 203 (1898).
Homotypic Synonyms:
Schwartzkopffia lastii (Rolfe) Schltr., Orchideen: 63 (1914).
Heterotypic Synonyms:
Schwartzkopffia angolensis Schltr., Beih. Bot. Centralbl. 37(2): 123 (1921).
Brachycorythis schlechteri Geerinck, Bull. Jard. Bot. Natl. Belg. 52: 341 (1982).
Description:
Roots up to 25 mm long, 6 mm in diameter, thick, fleshy, clustered, spreading. Stem 3-12 cm tall, erect, glabrous. Cauline bracts few, up to 5 cm long, imbricate, acute, the apices of the upper ones recurved, whitish. Inflorescence 1-3-flowered, lax. Flowers relatively large, with a strong lemon scent, tepals white or pink, lip white or magenta with a yellow spot inside. Floral bracts up to 3 cm long, similar to the cauline bracts. Pedicel and ovary 3-4 cm long, slender, erect, twisted in the lower part. Dorsal sepal 11-17 mm long, 3-6 mm wide, elliptic- oblong to lanceolate, acute to subobtuse. Petals 10-16 mm long, 3-7 mm wide, obliquely oblong, ovate-oblong or ovate, obtuse. Lateral sepals 13-23 mm long, 3.5-8.5 mm wide, obliquely oblong-lanceolate to oblong-ovate, acute. Lip 16-22 mm long, 16 mm wide, cuneate in general outline, horizontal, shallow saccate at the base, three-lobed in the apical third; the middle lobe smaller than side lobes, oblong, obtuse, with a very prominent rib; sidelobes oblong to ligulate, obtuse to rounded. Gynostemium 5-6 mm long.
Habitat:
Brachystegia woodlands and wooded grasslands.
Phenology:
Flowering in October-November.
Notes:
Considerable variation is seen in flower-size, shape of the lip mid-lobe and its length relative to the side lobes, and the shape of the sides of the hypochile.
Cultivation:
As given for the genus.
Distribution:
The Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire), Burundi, Tanzania, Angola, Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Mozambique. Alt. 650-1800 m.
References:
Orchidaceae of West-central Africa, vol. 1, Gdansk University Press Gdansk 2010; Flora of Tropical East Africa Summerhayes Orchidaceae Part 1 1968
Images:
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Photograph© Nicholas Case Wightman Image used with kind permission.	Photograph© Nicholas Case Wightman Image used with kind permission.	Photograph© Nicholas Case Wightman Image used with kind permission.	Photograph© Biodiversity and Landscape Unit. Image used with kind permission.	Photograph© Biodiversity and Landscape Unit. Image used with kind permission.