Habenaria velutina Summerh. 1964 SECTION Diphyllae

Drawing © by Mary Grierson

EARLY

Common Name The Velvety Habenaria

Flower Size 1.2" [3 cm]

Found in Zambia in woodlands and grasslands often near streams at elevations around 1270 meters as a small to medium sized, cool growing terrestrial with almost the entire plant velvety hairy, an ellipsoid to globose tuber giving rise to an erect stem carrying a single, basal, adpressed to the ground, ovate to orbicular, densely pubescent above, glabrous beneath, roundish apically, basally cordate leaf and 1 to 3, adpressed, very pubescent bract-like leaves above, that blooms in the early summer on a terminal, erect, 2 to 2.8" [5 to 7 cm] long, fairly laxly 6 to 9 flowered inflorescence with lanceolate, acute, margins erose, slightly shorter than the ovary floral bracts and carrying pale green, spreading flowers

Bearing only a single leaf it is clearly alligned with H trilobulata a species with 2 basal leaves. H velutina has the plant almost entirely velvety, a single basal leaf, inflorescence with 1 to 2 flowers, petals with the posterior lobe proportionally longer and narrower, and the lip with shorter lateral parts easily distinguish it from H trilobulata.

Synonyms Pseudohemipilia velutina (Summerh.) Szlach. 2003

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;

* Kew Bull. 17: 528 Summerhayes 1964

The Orchids of South Central Africa Williamson 1977 drawing fide;

Flora of Zambia Vol 11 Part 1 Pope 1995 drawing fide;

Orchidee (Hamburg) 54: 216 Szlach 2003 as Pseudohemipilia velutina

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