Holothrix tridentata (Hook.f.) Rchb.f., Otia Bot. Hamburg.: 119 (1881).
Homotypic Synonyms:
Peristylus tridentatus Hook.f., J. Proc. Linn. Soc., Bot. 7: 221 (1864).
Platanthera tridentata (Hook.f.) Engl., Abh. Königl. Akad. Wiss. Berlin 1891: 179 (1892).
Heterotypic Synonyms:
Holothrix platydactyla Kraenzl., Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 17: 66 (1893).
Description:
Plant 2 1/2–5 in. high. Tubers ovoid-globose, 3–4 lin. long. Leaves 2, radical, subopposite, orbicular, ciliate, 5–7 lin. long; the upper generally smaller than the lower. Scapes 2 1/2–5 in. long, retrorsely pilose, more pubescent above, without sheaths; racemes 1/2–1 in. long, 4–12-flowered. Bracts triangular-ovate, acute or subacuminate. Pedicels 1 lin. long. Sepals ovate, 1 lin. long; apex unequally tricuspidate; side lobes short and obtuse; middle lobe longer, subulate. Petals broadly elliptic-oblong, 1 1/4 lin. long; apex very unequally tridentate; side lobes short and obtuse; middle lobe long, cuspidate. Lip 2 lin. long, broadly oblong below, upper half divided into 7 diverging, unequal, oblong, subobtuse lobes; spur broadly conical, horizontal, somewhat curved, scarcely 1/4 lin. long. Column stout, 1/2 lin. long.
Habitat:
Distribution:
Cameroon (Mt. Cameroon), Sudan to Ethiopia
