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Disa verdickii De Wild., Ann. Mus. Congo Belge, Bot., IV, 1: 26 (1902).
Description:
Tubers testicular, c. 25 mm long and 15 mm in diam. Sterile shoots slender, up to 50 mm long; basal sheaths 2-3, acute or obtuse, up to 40 mm long; leaves up to 5, erect, linear to elliptical, acute, conduplicate, up to 110 mm long and 15 mm wide. Fertile shoots 250-500 mm tall; cauline leaves subimbricate, reduced basally to several subacute, 30 mm long sheaths, the remainder of the leaves 40-70 mm long, acute to subacuminate, ovate-lanceolate, with only the apexes free, grading apically into the floral bracts Inflorescence sub-imbricate, 80-200 mm long and with 8-25 flowers; bracts ovate-lanceolate, subacuminate, 30-40 mm long, reaching to the middle or overtopping the flowers. Flowers rosy-mauve to magenta-pink; dorsal sepal spathulate, 20-25 mm tall, claw 11-12 mm long, erect, deeply canaliculate towards the apex, c. 4 mm wide, blade orbicular, obtuse, c. 12 mm in diam., galeate, the upper margin incurved, the groove in the claw continued into the blade; spur pendent from below the middle of the dorsal sepal, usually following the curve in the dorsal sepal, 6-7 mm long, clavate, 1-3 mm in diam.; lateral sepals suboblique, oblong, obtuse to subacute, 20-25 mm long, 7-10 mm wide, flat, spreading sidewards; petals bilobed, anterior lobe oblong, 13-15 mm long and 6-8 mm wide, flanking the anther and spreading, the margins incurved, posterior lobe 20-22 mm long and 2-3 mm wide, narrowly oblanceolate to linear, subacute, included in the galea, partially overlapping; lip linear, acute, pendent, 2023 mm long and 1 mm wide; rostellum c. 3 mm tall; anther erect, 6-9 mm tall, connective longer than the anther sacs; ovary c. 20 mm long; stigma flat, tripulvinate, sessile.
Habitat:
The habitat of this species is not well known. The rainfall over the range varies from near 1000 mm p.a. to probably over 1400 mm p.a., with about five dry months in winter.Flowering times varies from October to January.
Cultivation:
As given for the genus.
Notes:
Given from Angola by la Croix & Cribb (1995). This species appears to be related to Disa zombica N.E.Br. Both differ in the size of the dorsal sepal and length of anterior petal lobe versus claw. In Disa verdickii dorsal sepal is over 20 mm long and anterior petal lobes are longer than the claw of the dorsal sepal. In Disa zombica dorsal sepal is up to 20 mm long and anterior petal lobes are much shorter than the claw of the dorsal sepal.
Distribution:
The Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire), Angola, Zambia. Alt. 1600 m.
References:
Orchidaceae of West-central Africa, vol. 1, Gdansk University Press Gdansk 2010
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© 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.