Diceratostele gabonensis Summerh. 1938

Drawing by © The National Botanic Garden Belgium Herbaria Website

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Common Name The Gabonese Diceratostele

Flower Size 1.4" [3.5 cm]

Found in Ivory Coast, Liberia, Cameroon, Gabon and Zaire as a medium sized, hot growing terrestrial with an erect stem carrying towards the apex, 6 to 8, elliptic, lanceoalte, acuminate, prominently 3 nerved beneeath, long petiolate base leaves that blooms in the later spring through summer on an axillary, 1.5" [3.75 cm] long, rachis somewhat pubescent, single flowered inflorescence with 10 to 15, triangular-acute, patent, distichous floral bracts and carrying white flowers. .

"This remarkable new genus seems to be properly placed in the subtribe Sobraliinae. Among African orchids it is very similar vegetatively to Corymborchis but the anther is placed at the apex of the column and appears to be operculate. Diceratostele is undoubtedly closely related to Palmorchis but differs from it in the remarkable flattened horn-like appen- dages at the top of the column as well as in the general structure of the lip. It is, however, interesting to note that many species of the genus Sobralia itself possess to a much less extent similar appendages at the apex of the column. Sobralia differs from Diceratostele in many ways, of which the most obvious are the inflorescence and the size of the flowers. The fundamental structure of the column and anther in the genera mentioned above as well as in Elleanthus is relatively constant and quite different from that in Corymborchis and Tropidia. Since Mansfeld has also placed Arundina and Thunia, both Asiatic genera, in the Sobraliinae the discovery of an African genus belonging to this subtribe is of considerable importance." Summerhayes 1938

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;

* Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew 1938: 151 Summerhayes 1938 Rudolf Schlechter Die Orchideen lieferung #13 753 - 816 Bulbophyllinae Brieger 1983 photo plant only/drawing ok;Flore D'Afrique Centrale [Zaire- Rwands - Burundi] Orhidaceae Premeir parte Geerink 1984 drawing fide; Rudolf Schlechter Die Orchideen Band 1C lieferung 42 - 43 pg 2626 - 2762 Brieger 2001 drawing fide; Les Orchidees de Cote d'Ivorie Perez-Vera 2003 photo/drawing fide;

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