Habenaria unifoliata Summerh. 1942 SECTION Diphyllae

Drawing © by Graham Williamson

EARLY

Common Name The Single Leafed Habenaria

Flower Size 1/2" [1.25 cm]

Found in Angola?, Malawi and Zambia amongst rocks at elevations of 1250 to 1600 meters as a medium sized, cool growing terrestrial with ellipsoid villous tubers giving rise to an erect stem carrying a single, basal, adpressed to the ground, reniform, cordate base leaf and several bract-like stem leaves above that blooms in the early summer on a terminal, erect, 6 to 8.8" [15 to 22 cm] long, rather loosely, 20 to many flowered inflorescence with longer below, shorter than the ovary above floral bracts and carrying green to yellow green flowers.

"Similar to H lithophila in flower structure and less so in H dregeana while similar to H decurvirostris in possessing a single leaf at the base of the scape but from H decurvirostris it is easily separated by the narrower inflorescewnce, the veryu long ans subulateanterior petal and lateral lip segments and the much stouter and almost stright spur. The structure of the column also differs in a number of points, paticularily the anther canals and rostellum side lobes which slightly curve upwards versus downwards in H decurvirostris." Summerhayes 1942

Synonyms

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ;

* Bot. Mus. Leafl. 10: 276 Summerhayes 1942

Flora of Tropical East Africa Orchidaeceae Part 1 Summerhayes 1968;

The Orchids of South Central Africa Williamson 1977 drawing fide;

Flora of Zambia Vol 11 Part 1 Pope 1995;

Orchidaceae of West Central Africa Vol 1: 134 Szlatchecko etal 2010 drawing fide

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