Habenaria leucoceras Schltr. 1915 SECTION Replicatae
Photo © by Margaret Westrop and African Plants Website
Photo © by Eric la Croix
Drawing © by Graham Williamson
Common Name The White Horned Habenaria
Flower Size 1" [2.5 cm]
Found in Tanzania, Malawi and Zambia in wet upland grasslands at elevations of 2000 to 2550 meters as a large sized, cold growing terrestrial with ellipsoid to ovoid, sparsely tomentose tubers giving rise to a rather stout, erect, leafy throughout stem carrying 9 to 11, lowermost 1 to 2 reduced to sheaths, the middle leaves erect to suberect, rather stiff, linear to very narrowly lanceolate, acute leaves the uppermost adpressed to the stem, imbricate, much smaller, lanceolate, acuminate leaves that blooms in the summer on a terminal, erect, 2.8 to 6" [7 to 15 cm] long, rather loosely 6 to 25 flowered inflorescence with thin, chaffy, lanceolate, acuminate, often longer than the ovary floral bracts and carrying spreading, green to whitish green flowers.
Similar to H sochensis but distinguished by the 2 long front segments of the petals which protrude like 2 white horns.
Synonyms Bilabrella leucoceras (Schltr.) Szlach. & Kras-Lap. 2003
References W3 Tropicos,Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;
* Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 53: 518 Schlechter 1915
Flora of Tropical East Africa Orchidaeceae Part 1 Summerhayes 1968;
The Orchids of South Central Africa Williamson 1977 drawing fide;
Flora of Zambisiaca Vol 11 Part 1 Pope 1995 photo fide;
Richardiana 3: 141 Szlach. & Kras-Lap. 2003 as Bilabrella leucoceras
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