Roeperocharis Rchb.f. Otia Bot. Hamburg.: 104 (1881).
Description:
Terrestrial herb with tuberous roots, leafy stem and terminal inflorescence. Flowers green; sepals and petals free. Lip free, 3-lobed (rarely entire), with cylindrical spur. Column erect, the anther loculi divergent, separated by a broad connective; canals hardly developed; pollinaria 2, each with a sectile pollinium, long caudicle and small viscidium. Stigmatic processes each 2-lobed with one lobe projecting down in front of the lip-base, the other lobe upright in front of the anther connective.Rostellum 3-lobed, mid-lobe low, rounded or emarginate, adnate to the connective; side lobes spreading, narrowed towards apex.
Distribution:
Trop. Africa
Notes:
This genus was proposed by the younger Reichenbach to honour Herr Roeper 'a man of great merit and pious spirit' and the name is derived from his surname with the Greek word charis (grace) added to it. Five species have been described from eastern Africa.
Cultivation:
The species of Roeperocharis are not known in cultivation.
Species:
| Roeperocharis alcicornis Kraenzl. | NW. & C. Ethiopia. |
| Roeperocharis bennettiana Rchb.f., | Ethiopia to Zambia. |
| Roeperocharis maleveziana Geerinck, | Zaïre. |
| Roeperocharis urbaniana Kraenzl. | NW. Ethiopia. |
| Roeperocharis wentzeliana Kraenzl. | Tanzania to Zambia. |
World Checklist of Monocotyledons. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet; http://www.kew.org/wcsp/monocots/ accessed 1/16/2010
Bibliography and References:
Kurzweil H, Weber A. 1992 Floral morphology of southern African Orchideae: II. Habenariinae. Nordic J. Bot. 12. 39-61.
Vermeulen P. 1978 Roeperocharis bennettiana Rchb., fil. Orchideeen 40. (4): 146 - 147 (1978)
