Habenaria montolivaea Kraenzl. ex Engl. 1892 SECTION Pseudoperistylus

TYPE Drawing and collection sheetz © The Swiss Orchid Foundation at the Jany Renz Herbaria Website

Common Name The Mount of Olives Habenaria [Type locality within Ethiopia]

Flower Size

Found only in Ethiopia in open grasslands at elevations of 1000 to 2600 meters as a miniature to small sized, cool to cold growing terrestrial with a leafy throughout stem carrying 4 to 7, basal 3 spreading, obovate, grading smaller above to bract-like leaves that blooms in the summer on a terminal, erect, to 1.6" [4 cm] long, subdensely to densely many flowered inflorescence with lanceolate, lowermost often longer than the flowers floral bracts.

"I think there is little doubt that the species is closely allied to <>A href="habpetitiana.htm"> H. petitiana and similar species. It agrees with these species, placed erroneously in Peristylus by Rolfe, in habit and general floral structure, but differs in the larger rostellum and smaller stigmas." Summerhayes 1948

Synonyms *Montolivaea elegans Rchb.f. 1881; Peristylus albidulus Chiov. 1911; Pseudoperistylus montolivaea (Kraenzl. ex Engl.) Szlach. & Olszewski 2000

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;

Otia Bot. Hamburg.: 107 Rchb.f 1881 as Montolivaea elegans

* Abh. Königl. Akad. Wiss. Berlin 1891: 183 Kraenzlin ex Engl. 1892

Ann. Bot. (Rome) 9: 137 Chiov. 1911 as Peristylus albidulus

Kew Bull. 4: 427 Summerhayes 1949

Ann. Bot. Fenn. 37: 312 Szlach. & Olszewski 2000 as Pseudoperistylus montolivaea

Field Guide to Ethiopian Orchids Demissew, Cribb & Rassmusen 2005;

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