Habenaria prionocraspedon Summerh. 1932 SECTION Plantagineae

Drawings by © Kowalkowska

Common Name Alina's Habenaria

Flower Size

Found in Nigeria in submontane forests at elevations around 1050 meters as a medium sized, warm to cool growing terrestrial with an erect, glabrous, leafy stem carrying 5, elliptic to oblong-lanceolate, acute, spread, decreasing in size upwards, leaves that blooms on an erect, terminal, 5.2" [13 cm] long, densely many flowered inflorescence with lanceolate, acuminate, glabrous, the lower longer than the ovary, shorter above floral racts and carrying relatively large, resupinate, white flowers.

"This beautiful species, which is closely allied to H. engleriana finds its nearest relatives otherwise in India where sect. Plantagineae is well represented. The Indian species of sect. Plantagineae, however, either have strikingly different flowers or else the leaf arrangement is quite different. The usual type consists of a group of large leaves near the base of the stem and a number of reduced bract-like leaves in the upper half. In the two West African species the true foliage leaves occur up the stem to the base of the inflorescence." Summerhayes 1932

Synonyms Plantaginorchis prionocraspedon (Summerh.) Szlach. 2004

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;

* Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew 1932: 342 Summerhayes 1932

Richardiana 4: 65 Szlach. 2004 as Plantaginorchis prionoraspedon

Orchidaceae of West Central Africa Vol 1: 167 Szlach etal 2010 as Plantaginorchis prionoraspedon

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