Habenaria epipactidea Rchb.f., Flora 50: 100 (1867).
Homotypic Synonyms:
Habenaria foliosa var. epipactidea (Rchb.f.) Rendle, J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 37: 221 (1904).
Platantheroides epipactidea (Rchb.f.) Szlach., Richardiana 4: 106 (2004).
Platycorynoides epipactidea (Rchb.f.) Szlach., Orchidee (Hamburg) 56: 207 (2005).
Habenella epipactidea (Rchb.f.) Szlach. & Kras-Lap., Richardiana 6: 35 (2006).
Heterotypic Synonyms:
Orchis foliosa Sw., Kongl. Vetensk. Acad. Nya Handl. 21: 206 (1800).
Bonatea foliosa (Sw.) Lindl., Gen. Sp. Orchid. Pl.: 329 (1835).
Bonatea foliosa var. pauciflora Sond., Linnaea 19: 82 (1846).
Habenaria foliosa (Sw.) Rchb.f., Flora 48: 180 (1865), nom. illeg.
Habenaria hircina Rchb.f., Flora 50: 100 (1867).
Habenaria polyphylla Kraenzl., Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 16: 214 (1892).
Habenaria schinzii Rolfe in D.Oliver & auct. suc. (eds.), Fl. Trop. Afr. 7: 219 (1898).
Habenaria perfoliata Kraenzl., Bull. Herb. Boissier, sér. 2, 2: 942 (1902).
Habenaria rautanenii Kraenzl., Bull. Herb. Boissier, sér. 2, 4: 1008 (1904).
Habenaria trachychila Kraenzl., Bull. Herb. Boissier, sér. 2, 4: 1007 (1904).
Habenaria epipactidea var. schinzii (Rolfe) Kraenzl., Vierteljahrsschr. Naturf. Ges. Zürich 56: 106 (1911).
Platycoryne rautanenii (Kraenzl.) Szlach. & Olszewski, Fl. Cameroun 34: 200 (1998).
Platycorynoides hircina (Rchb.f.) Szlach., Orchidee (Hamburg) 56: 207 (2005).
Platycorynoides rautanenii (Kraenzl.) Szlach., Orchidee (Hamburg) 56: 207 (2005).
Description:
A terrestrial herb I-5-5-5 dm. high. Tubers globose, ellipsoid, ovoid or cylindrical, 2-5-6-5 cm. long, 1-3 cm. in diameter, woolly. Stem erect, rather stout, usually densely leafy, the leaves overlapping. Leaves suberect, 8-15, the lowest 1 or 2 sheath-like, the remainder lanceolate or broadly lanceolate, acute, the largest 5-12 cm. long and 1-2.5 cm. broad, gradually decreasing in size up the stem, the uppermost similar to the bracts. Inflorescence cylindrical, 6-16 cm. long, 3-5 cm. in diameter, densely 7- to many-flowered. Bracts lanceolate, acuminate, mostly shorter than the flowers. Flowers curved outwards, white or greenish-white; ovary together with the slender pedicel 1.5-2.2 cm. long. Dorsal sepal erect, ovate or elliptical, subacute, convex, 9-14 mm. long, 6-9 mm. broad; laterals spreading, oblong-lanceolate, subacute, a little longer but much narrower than the dorsal. Petals broadly elliptical or almost orbicular, rounded, as long as the dorsal sepal, 6-12 mm. broad, thicker and opaque in the upper part. Lip pendent, 3-lobed almost from the base, 11-16 mm. long, ± 2 mm. broad; side lobes much shorter and narrower than the middle lobe, up to 4 mm. long; spur pendent, much swollen towards the apex, 1.5-6.5 cm. long, but usually between 2 and 3 cm. Anther short with almost horizontal parallel loculi, canals very short; stigmas broadly club-shaped, truncate, ± 2.5 mm. long, rostellum middle lobe broadly triangular, exceeding and almost covering the anther.
Habitat:
Short grasslands, especially where damp, rocky gullies and dry bush; 1150-1800 m.
Phenology:
Flowering in December-April.
Notes:
The species is characterised by the more or less orbicular-elliptical petals, the short and narrow lateral lobes of the lip, and especially by its remarkable column. Of this the large triangular conduplicate rostellum, rising well above and in front of the anther, is the most striking feature. A certain amount of variation occurs in the size of the flowers, in the shape of the petals, in the length of the lateral lobes of the lip and in the length of the spur, which in Welwitsch 736 (type collection of Habenaria hircina Rchb.f.) is about twice as long as in any other specimen. There is, however, no apparent correlation between these variations, while the very characteristic column remains identical in all the specimens examined.
Cultivation:
As given for the genus, warm to cool growing terrestrial.
Distribution:
Angola, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Namibia, South Africa. Alt. 1150-1800 m.
References:
Orchidaceae of West-central Africa, vol. 1, Gdansk University Press Gdansk 2010; Orchids of Kenya Stewart 1996; Flora of Tropical East Africa Part 1 Summerhayes 1968; Flora Zambesiaca Vol 11 Part 1 Pope 1995
Images:
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Habitat/In situ	Habitat/In situ
Photograph© Cameron McMaster. Image used with kind permission.	Photograph© Cameron McMaster. Image used with kind permission.