Habenaria odorata Schltr. 1915 SECTION Diphyllae Kraenzl

Photo courtesy of © Swiss Orchid Foundation at the Herbarium Jany Renz

LATE EARLY

Common Name The Fragrant Habenaria

Flower Size 1.2" [3 cm]

Found in Tanzania, Malawi and Zambia in grasslands at elevations up to 2200 meters as a small to medium sized, cool to coldgrowing terrestrial with ovoid, villous tubers giving rise to an erect stem carrying a single, basal, adpressed to the ground, orbicular, cordate basally, fleshy leaves and another 4 to 5 rather loose sheaths above that blooms in the late spring and early summer on an erect, 1.6 to 5.2" [4 to 13 cm] long, laxly 2 to 6 flowered inflorescence with as long as to a bit longer than the ovary floral bracts and carrying white, sweetly fragrant flowers.

In many respects similar to H macrura but this one has only a single basaql leaf, smaller flowers, simple petals and a much shorter spur.

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;

* Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 53: 502 Schlechter 1915

Flora of Tropical East Africa Part 1 Summerhayes 1968;

Flora Zambesiaca Volume 11 Part one Pope 1998;

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------