Stenoglottis fimbriata var. modesta (Truter & Joliffe) D.P.Phillips & Bytebier, Phytotaxa 456: 228 (2020).
Homotypic Names:
Stenoglottis modesta Truter & Joliffe, Orchids S. Africa 42: 12 (2011).
Description:
Plant lithophytic herb, 120-330 mm high, with several cylindrical tubers, up to 6mm in diameter. Leaves 4-8, lanceolate-elliptic to spathulate, unmarked, glossy fairly thick, succulent substance; glabrous, 5-115 mm long, 18-22 mm wide, apex acute, margins entire and flat. Inflorescence a markedly secund raceme, up to 330 mm tall, with 5-25 flowers. Sheaths and bracts, unspotted, lanceolate, acuminate, gradually decreasing in size along the peduncle, shorter than the ovaries. Flowers white with pale pink overlay and lilac spots on all parts in southern population, to deep rosy crimson in three northern populations, with only a broken double line of darker pink spots down the centre of the labellum, semiclosed and self-fertilizing. Sepals folded forward, obtuse or rounded, 3-5 mm long, entire, the lateral ones somewhat oblique. Petals folded forwards so that they obscure the column, ovate, c.3mm long, slightly fimbriate around the apical margin to 'markedly fimbriate along entire margin. Labellum spreading, narrowly oblong in outline, 5-7 mm long, 3mm wide, always only 3-lobed, equal in length, two side-lobes subequal, 3-lobed for approximately half its length, lobe dimensions identical, never additional fimbriation on side-lobes; spur very small, but visible, sub-saccate, approximately 0.5 mm long. Column very small, short, less than 1 mm long, obtuse, Pollinia enclosed in sacs on the face of the column, Caudicles short, viscidia round. Staminodes small fistshaped, with tuberculate apex, adnate to the side of the column. Stigmas longer than the anther sacs, elongated, falcate, curving forwards and upwards, adhering to the anther sacs (thus effectively ensuring self-fertilization). Ovary/capsule up to 10 mm long.
Etymology:
Latin for moderate, restrained, referring to the small, semiclosed, self-fertilizing flowers.
Habitat:
Stenoglottis fimbriata var. modesta is known from several disjunct localities in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, at elevations of 600–1300 m. It occurs in forests or forest margins, in deep or partial shade, most commonly as a lithophyte on mossy boulders, or on ledges and crevices along south-facing cliff faces, occasionally as a terrestrial in shallow soil. At several localities it has been found to cooccur with the nominal variety, with which it overlaps in flowering period but maintains its distinct form.
Phenology:
Flowering from February–April and is consistently self-pollinating.
Notes:
Most diagnostic characters described by Truter & Jollife (2011) for S. modesta are consistent throughout its geographic range. However, phylogenetic analyses (Phillips & Bytebier 2020) has shown it to be indistinguishable from S. fimbriata (as circumscribed in this paper, including both subspecies and S. zambesiaca) with which, in spite of its reliable diagnosis, it clearly shares overall morphological similarity. It seems that S. modesta recently diverged from S. fimbriata, and in view of the fact that it is sympatric (often in mixed populations) with S. fimbriata, it is better treated as an infraspecific taxon of that species. It is therefore reduced in rank here to S. fimbriata var. modesta.
Distribution:
KwaZulu-Natal
References:
A new species of Stenoglottis (Orchidaceae) from the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal Provinces of South Africa by J.T. TRUTER & K.G. JOLIFFE J.T. Truter; A taxonomic revision of Stenoglottis (Orchideae, Orchidoideae, Orchidaceae),Phytotaxa 456 (3): 219–243, 02 September 2020. By Dean P. Phillips & Benny Bytebier: POWO (2022). "Plants of the World Online. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet; http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org/ Retrieved 20 November 2022."
Images:
Click on each image to see a larger version.