Orchidaceae, I. la Croix & P.J. Cribb. Flora Zambesiaca 11:2. 1998
Terrestrial herb.Pseudobulbs subterranean or partly aerial, forming a chain.Leaves up to 7, forming a fan, 12–30 × 0.3–2 cm, linear, with an abscission layer near the base, the basal sheath spotted with purple-red, present or just starting to appear at flowering time.Flowering stem 30–50 cm tall, rather laxly several-flowered; scape with several tight sheaths.Pedicel and ovary 16–17 mm long; bracts 5–6 mm long, lanceolate, acute.Sepals olive-green and purplish; petals yellow, yellow-green; lip yellow-green with maroon veins; spur tipped with maroon.Sepals 13–16 × 1.8–4.8 mm, oblong to oblanceolate, acute or obtuse, the laterals oblique.Petals 11.5–12.5 × 3.5–4.8 mm, oblong-lanceolate, acute or obtuse.Lip 12–15 × 7.5–11 mm, 3-lobed in the apical third; mid-lobe 5–5.5 × 3–5.5 mm, oblong, apiculate; side lobes c. 8 mm long, erect, partly joined to the column foot; base of lip conical, narrowing into the ± cylindrical spur; spur 3–4.5 mm long, straight or bent forwards, blunt, sometimes bilobed at the apex.Crests formed of thin lamellae on the main veins of the lip, taller on the mid-lobe than on the side lobes and finely pubescent towards the base of the lip.Column 6–8.5 mm long with auricles at the base.
Rocky outcrops in woodland, among granite boulders, and in sandy soil over granite rocks
Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592
