Habenaria stenophylla Summerh. 1962 SECTION Replicatae

TYPE Collections Sheet/TYPE drawing by Summerhayes 1960 Kew's Plants of the World Website

Common Name Testu's Polystachya [Le Tetsu Collector in Africa 1900's

Flower Size

Found in Tanzania in upland grasslands and meadows at elevations of 1800 to 2000 meters as a medium sixed, almost glabrous except for the scapes and petals, cool growing terrestrial with ellipsoid or ovoid, densely tomentose tubers giving rise to a straight to very slightly flexuous, erect, slender, smooth, leafy throughout, stem carrying about 12 in total, lowest few sheath like, white, beautifully green veined, acute, the next 5 to 6, intermediate, suberect, linear, acute, the upper ones much smaller, adpressed to the stem, lanceolate, acuminate, gradually decreasing in size upwards leaves grading to bracts at the apex that blooms in the summer and fall on an erect, terminal, cylindrical, 2.4 to 4.4" [6 to 11 cm] long, to 1.6" [4 cm] wide, subdensely 10 to 20 flowered inflorescence with lanceolate, acuminate, subscarious, margin shortly denticulate, shorter than the ovary floral bracts and carryinmg suberect to slightly arcuate-patent, green flowers with the center whitish.

"This species is evidently allied to H. ndiana and H. macrostele , from which it differs by the shorter spur with slightly larger flowers, a longer anterior petal partition, narrowly linear leaves, beautifully distinguished by the whitish basal cataphyllis. Like them it possesses a column with a narrowed sterile stalk below the anther and short anther canals. A striking feature consists of the cataphylls at the base of the stem which, as in the very different H. retinervis, are whitish with a distinct network of green veins. These are quite lacking in the two allies named above, the cataphylls, when present, being the same colour as the other leaf-sheaths. H. stenophylla is known only from Tan- ganyika but it does not appear to be a common plant." Summerhayes 1962

SynonymsReferences W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;

*Kew Bull. 16: 293 Summerhayes 1962

Richardiana 3: 142 Szlach. & Kras-Lap. 2003 as Bilabrella stenophylla

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