Habenaria schimperiana Hochst. ex A.Rich., Tent. Fl. Abyss. 2: 295 (1850).
Homotypic Synonyms:
Bilabrella schimperiana (Hochst. ex A.Rich.) Szlach. & Kras-Lap., Richardiana 3: 142 (2003).
Heterotypic Synonyms:
Habenaria peltastes Rchb.f., Otia Bot. Hamburg.: 99 (1881).
Habenaria involuta Bolus, J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 25: 165 (1889).
Habenaria anomala Lindl. ex Kraenzl., Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 16: 206 (1893).
Bilabrella peltastes (Rchb.f.) Szlach. & Kras-Lap., Richardiana 3: 142 (2003).
Bilabrella involuta (Bolus) Szlach. & Kras, Richardiana 6: 197 (2006).
Description:
A terrestrial herb 3 dm. to 1 m. high, glabrous except for the roots and petals. Tubers ellipsoid to ovoid, 1^4 cm. long, 1-2 cm. in diameter, sparsely pilose. Stem erect, slender to stout, to I cm. diameter at base, leafy throughout its length. Leaves 6-10, the lowermost sometimes reduced to a sheath, lowest 4r-7 ± suberect or less frequently spreading, linear or linear-lanceolate, acute, the largest 7-28 cm. long, 1-2 (rarely -3.7) cm. broad, the upper ones smaller, adpressed to the stem, lanceolate, acuminate. Inflorescence 6-35 cm. long, 5.5-10 cm. in diameter, rather loosely or sometimes more densely 4- to many-flowered. Bracts clasping the pedicel, lanceolate, acuminate, 1-2 (rarely -3) cm. long, usually much shorter than the pedicel with ovary. Flowers spreading, green with white central parts, with an unpleasant smell; pedicel with ovary slightly curved, 2-3.5 cm. long. Dorsal sepal reflexed, narrowly elliptical, obtuse, convex, 6-8 mm. long, nearly 4 mm. broad; laterals deflexed and twisted, obliquely obovate with apiculum lateral, 9-11 mm. long, 5-8 mm. broad. Petals bipartite nearly to the base, both lobes ciliate, especially the anterior; posterior lobe reflexed, linear or narrowly lanceolate, 5-8 mm. long, ± 1 mm. broad; anterior lobe spreading downwards, much longer, elongate-lanceolate, acute, 14—18.5 mm. long, nearly 2 mm. broad. Lip deflexed or incurved, tripartite from an undivided base 2-3 mm. long; middle lobe linear, ± incurved, 13-17 mm. long; side lobes very narrowly lanceolate, 8-11 mm. long; all lobes ± 0.5 mm. broad; spur ± straight or incurved beneath the flower, several times twisted in the middle, much swollen in the apical half, 10-16 mm. long. Anther ± 3 mm. high, loculi reclinate, canals porrect or ± incurved, 5-6 mm. long; stigmas porrect or incurved, suddenly thickened and truncate at apex, 5-7 mm. long; rostellum triangular-linear, acute, 1-2 mm. long.
Habitat:
Swamps, wet grasslands on badly drained soil, flooded grasslands, marshes.
Phenology:
Flowering in December-April.
Notes:
Habenarias sect. Replicatae Kraenzl. is represented by the single species Habenaria schimperiana the Yemen. Superficially it closely resembles in its vegetative characteristics and in having gnat-like flowers the three species of sect. Cultratae recorded from the Arabian peninsula but is readily distinguished by its reflexed dorsal sepal and longer anterior petal-lobes.
Cultivation:
As described for the genus.
Distribution:
Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, the Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire), Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe. Alt. 880-2550 m.
References:
Orchidaceae of West-central Africa, vol. 1, Gdansk University Press Gdansk 2010; La Croix, I. et al. (1991). Orchids of Malawi A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam; La Croix, I. & Cribb, P.J. (1995). Orchidaceae (Part 1) Flora Zambesiaca 11(1); Flora of Tropical East Africa Summerhayes Orchidaceae Part 1 1968; African Orchids: XXVIII V. S. Summerhayes, Kew Bulletin, Vol. 16, No. 2 (1962), pp. 253-314
Images:
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Habitat/In situ	Habitat/In situ
Photograph© Nicholas Case Wightman Image used with kind permission.	Photograph© Nicholas Case Wightman Image used with kind permission.