Mystacidium brayboniae Summerh. 1949
Photo by © Eric Hunt
Photos by © Lourens Grobler.
LATE
Common Name Braybon's Mystacidium [South African Orchid Enthusiast 1900's]
Flower Size 1/2" [1.25 cm]
Found in northern South Africa as a mini-miniature sized, warm to cool growing, twig epiphyte that grows on fig trees and thorn bushes in seasonally dry, deciduous forests at elevations of 800 to 1500 meters, with thick grayish-white roots adorned with a tuft of 1 1/2" dark green leaves which may be deciduous that blooms in the late spring and summer on 2" [5 cm] long, spikes emerging from below the leaves carrying a cluster of to 10, 1/2" [1.25 cm] pure white, fragrant flowers.
"This species is most closely allied to two of the southern species, and is not a near relative of M. tanganyikensis from farther north. As is usually the case in this very natural genus M. braybonae is distinguished from the other species by the combination of its characters rather than by any strikingly unique feature. The dense flowered racemes make the species more immediately attractive than many other species in which the flowers are more spaced out." summerhayes 1949
This species requires moderate shade and high humidity while in growth and a drier cooler winter rest.
References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
* Kew Bull. 4: 442 Summerhayes 1949 AOS Bulletin Vol 51 # 9 1982 postage stamp fide; Wild Orchids of Southern Africa Stewart, Linder, Schelpe & Hall 1982 photo fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 53 No 9 1984 photo fide; Rudolph Schlechter Die Orchideen Band 1B lieferung 16/17/18 945-1128 Brieger 1986; African Orchids in the Wild and Cultivation La Croix 1997; Orchids of Southern Africa Linder & Kurzweil 1999 photo fide; Angraecoid Orchids Stewart, Hermans, Campbell 2006 photo good; AOS Bulletin Vol 77 No 11 2008 photo fide; Field Guide to the Orchids of Northern South Africa and Swaziland McMurty, Grobler, Grobler & Burns 2008; Mille et Une Mini Orchideees Roguenant 2009 photo fide;
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