Zeuxine stammleri Schltr., Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 38: 151 (1906).
Homotypic Synonyms:
Hetaeria stammleri (Schltr.) Summerh., Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew 1934: 208 (1934).
Description:
Rhizome creeping. Stem 14-40 cm tall, erect, delicate, above the leaves sparsely glandular, denser above. Leaves gathered near the base, 3-9, petiolate; petiole with sheath 1.2-2.5 cm long; blade 3-8 cm long, 1-3.5 cm wide, ovate to elliptic, asymmetric, acute. Cauline bracts 4-5, up to I cm long, herbaceous with hyaline margins, ovate, acute, glabrous, amplexicaul, shorter than internodes. Inflorescence 2.5-10 cm long, up to 25-flowered, dull pale pink. Flowers nonresupinate, small, perianth greenish pink and white. Floral bract 4-12 mm long, ovate-lanceolate, acute, delicate, near the base sparsely glandular outside, reddish tinged. Ovary 6-7 mm long, glandular. Dorsal sepal 3-4.5 mm long, 2-2.5 mm wide, ovate to oblong-ovate, subobtuse, delicate, sparsely glandular outside, 3-nerved. Lateral sepals of the same size, obliquely ovate, subacute, delicate, sparsely glandular outside, 3-nerved. Petals 3-4.5 mm long, 1.2-1.5 mm wide, linear in the lower part, oblong-elliptic above, obtuse, very thin, delicate, single-nerved. Lip sessile, constricted near the apex; basal part 2.5-3 mm long, 1.3 mm wide, deeply cochleate with fleshy projections inside near the base, oblong-ovate in general outline, distinctly thickened towards the apex, margins involute in basal half, supervolutive in apical half; epichile 0.3 mm long, I mm wide, transversely rhomboid, with shallow groove in the center, side lobes acute.
Habitat:
Lowland forests with Entandro-phragma spp., Terminalia superba Engl. & Diels., and Megaphrynium macrostachyum (Benth.) Milne-Redh., in shade. December-February, June-Sep-tember.
Cultivation:
As given for the genus, hot to warm growing terrestrial.
Distribution:
Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea (Bioko), Sao Tomé and Principe (Principe), Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire). Alt. 0-900 m.
References:
Orchidaceae of West-central Africa, vol. 1, Gdansk University Press Gdansk 2010