Orchidaceae
Habenaria

Habenaria keniensis Summerh.

First published in Bot. Mus. Leafl. 10: 270 (1942)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Kenya. It is a tuberous geophyte and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

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

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Orchidaceae, V. S. Summerhayes. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1968

Morphology General Habit
A terrestrial or rarely epiphytic herb 2–6 dm. high.
Vegetative Multiplication Tubers
Tubers ovoid or ellipsoid, 1.5–4 cm. long, 1–3 cm. in diameter, woolly.
Morphology Stem
Stem erect, leafy, often rather stout, nearly 1 cm. in diameter near the base.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves along the stem, 5–7, the lowermost 1 or 2 sheath-like, the remainder lanceolate or elliptical-lanceolate, acuminate, the largest 5–15 cm. long and 2–6 cm. broad, decreasing in size up the stem, the uppermost like the bracts.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence 10–27 cm. long, rather laxly or subdensely 6–32-flowered.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts
Bracts leaf-like, lanceolate, acuminate, the lower ones longer than the flowers, often much longer.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers suberect, green and white; pedicel with ovary 2–3 cm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Dorsal sepal erect, broadly lanceolate, very acute, 13–19 mm. long, 7–9.5 mm. broad, convex; laterals spreading or deflexed, obliquely lanceolate, acuminate, 16–23 mm. long, narrower than the dorsal.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Petals adherent to the dorsal sepal along their inner side, much curved, narrowly lanceolate, acute, pubescent and ciliate, about as long as the dorsal sepal, 4–6 mm. broad.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Labellum
Lip with a wedge-shaped claw ± 5–6 mm. long, beyond this 3-lobed, 18–25 mm. in length, almost glabrous; middle lobe linear or ligulate, obtuse, 12–18 mm. long, ± 1.5 mm. broad; side lobes widely divergent, 15–20 mm. long, divided into 6–10 narrow threads on the outside.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Spur
Spur pendent, ± S-shaped, 2–3 cm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens Anthers
Anther-connective horseshoe-shaped, 2.5–3 mm. high and 4–6 mm. broad, loculi at each end, canals slender, erect, 4–5.5 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Stigma
Stigmas attached to rostellum side lobes in lower part, 15–21 mm. long, receptive part much swollen, 5–9 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Rostellum
Rostellum middle lobe very short and broad.
Habitat
Open woodland, upland rain-forest edges or in deep shade; 1950–2650 m.
Distribution
K3 K4 K5 not known elsewhere
[FTEA]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    • Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0