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Brachycorythis tenuior Rchb.f., Flora 48: 183 (1865).
Homotypic Synonyms:
Habenaria tenuior (Rchb.f.) N.E.Br., Gard. Chron., n.s., 24: 307 (1885).
Platanthera tenuior (Rchb.f.) Schltr., Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 20(50): 12 (1895).
Diplacorchis tenuior (Rchb.f.) Schltr., Beih. Bot. Centralbl. 38(2): 128 (1921).
Gyaladenia tenuior (Rchb.f.) Szlach., Richardiana 6: 82 (2006).
Heterotypic Synonyms:
Brachycorythis engleriana Kraenzl., Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 22: 20 (1895).
Brachycorythis rhomboglossa Kraenzl., Orchid. Gen. Sp.: 544 (1898).
Brachycorythis sibangensis Kraenzl., Orchid. Gen. Sp.: 547 (1898).
Brachycorythis soyauxiana Kraenzl., Orchid. Gen. Sp.: 546 (1898).
Platanthera engleriana (Kraenzl.) Rolfe in D.Oliver & auct. suc. (eds.), Fl. Trop. Afr. 7: 204 (1898).
Diplacorchis engleriana (Kraenzl.) Schltr., Beih. Bot. Centralbl. 38(2): 129 (1921).
Diplacorchis rhomboglossa (Kraenzl.) Schltr., Beih. Bot. Centralbl. 38(2): 129 (1921).
Brachycorythis crassicornis Kraenzl., Vierteljahrsschr. Naturf. Ges. Zürich 74: 103 (1929).
Gyaladenia engleriana (Kraenzl.) Szlach., Richardiana 6: 81 (2006).
Gyaladenia rhomboglossa (Kraenzl.) Szlach., Richardiana 6: 82 (2006).
Description:
Tubers 1-3.5 cm long, ellipsoid to ovoid. Stem 20-64 cm tall, erect, delicate, glabrous, leafy throughout its length. Leaves 12-28, up to 5.5 cm long and 1.5 cm wide, ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, acute, glabrous, erect to suberect, decreasing its size up the stem. Inflorescence 4.5-16 cm long, (8)12-30-flowered, dense. Flowers rather small, purple or violet, often with darker spots or whitish portions. Floral bracts up to 30 mm long, ovate-lanceolate, acute to acuminate, glabrous, leaf-like. Pedicel and ovary 6-13 mm long, glabrous. Dorsal sepal 5-10 mm long, 2.3-5 mm wide, elliptic, convex, obtuse, cucullate at the apex. Petals 6-9.5 mm long, 2.3-3.7 mm wide, oblong, sigmoid, obtuse, somewhat cochleate. Lateral sepals 6.5-12 mm long, 2.3-4.5 mm wide, obliquely oblong-ovate, subobtuse. Lip distinctly and unequally 3-lobed, 6.5-9.5 mm long and 3.8-7.5 mm wide in total, thick, fleshy, minutely papillate; the middle lobe 3-4.5 mm long, ca. 3 mm wide, oblong, obtuse, with two decurrent keels terminating abruptly in front; side lobes 1-1.5 mm long, 3 mm wide, oblong-elliptic, rounded, undulate and erose on margins. Spur 5-10.5 mm long, cylindrical, obtuse, curved down at the apex. Gynostemium 4-6 mm long, erect.
Habitat:

Open grassy areas, dambo margins, long grass woodlands. Flowering season throughout the year.
Cultivation:
As given for the genus, warm to cool growing terrestrial.
Distribution:
Guinea, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Central African Republic, Gabon, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire)?, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Angola, Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Republic of South Africa. Alt. 300-1800 m.
References:
Orchidaceae of West-central Africa, vol. 1, Gdansk University Press Gdansk 2010; Orchids of East Africa Piers 1968; Flora of Tropical East Africa Orchidaceae Part 1 Summerhayes 1968; Orchids of the Central African Republic - A Provisional Checklist Cribb & Fay 1987; Flora Zambesiaca Vol. 11 Orchidaceae Part 1 Pope 1995; Orchids of Kenya Stewart & Campbell 1996; Flore du Gabon Vol. 36 Szlachetko etal 2004
Images:
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Habitat/In situ	Habitat/In situ	Habitat/In situ
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.