Orchidaceae
Habenaria

Habenaria malacophylla Rchb.f.

First published in Otia Bot. Hamburg.: 97 (1881)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Tropical & S. Africa, S. Arabian Peninsula. 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: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Orchidaceae, V. S. Summerhayes. Flora of West Tropical Africa 3:1. 1968

Morphology General Habit
A slender terrestrial herb, 1-31/2 ft. high, leafy in the middle of the stem
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Numerous small green flowers in a long loose raceme
Ecology
In forest.
[FWTA]

Orchidaceae, I. la Croix and P.J. Cribb. Flora Zambesiaca 11:1. 1995

Morphology General Habit
Terrestrial herb 30–90 cm high with ovoid, ± woolly tubers c. 2 cm long.
Morphology Stem
Stem leafy, with c. 7–15 leaves, the 2–3 lowermost sheath-like, the lowermost foliage leaf 15–20 cm from the base.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves spreading, the mid-cauline largest and 10–16 × 3–5 cm, oblanceolate, acute, dark green, the base clasping the stem.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence 11–30 × 3–4 cm, fairly laxly (occasionally densely) many-flowered; bracts 10–20 mm long, usually shorter than the flower.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers green.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Pedicel and Ovary
Ovary and pedicel 11–15 mm long, arched so that flower is held ± horizontally.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Dorsal sepal 4–7 × 3–5 mm, ovate, erect, convex; lateral sepals 5–7.5 × 2–4 mm, obliquely lanceolate, spreading.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Petals 2-lobed ± to base; posterior lobe 4–7 × 1–1.5 mm, linear, ± adnate to dorsal sepal; anterior lobe 5–9 mm long, less than 0.5 mm wide, narrowly linear, curving up.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Labellum
Lip 3-lobed almost to base, mid-lobe 5–8 × c. 1 mm, linear; side lobes slightly longer and narrower, curving upwards like anterior petal lobes; spur 9–15 mm long, inflated in the middle, parallel to ovary.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens Anthers
Anther c. 1.5 mm tall; canals less than 1 mm long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Stigma
Stigmatic arms 1.5–2.5 mm long, clavate, appressed to lip.
[FZ]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

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

  • Flora Zambesiaca

    • Flora Zambesiaca
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of West Tropical Africa

    • Flora of West Tropical 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

  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images