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| Synonyms: |
Benthamia drummondii (H.P. Linder & G. Will.) Szlach. & Rutk. |
| Common names: | |
| Frequency: | |
| Status: | Native |
| Description: |
A terrestrial herb 10–25 cm tall. Leaves 2–6 in a basal rosette, narrowly elliptic to ovate, 1–4.5 cm long, narrowed at the base into a pale sheathing petiole; leaves along the stem 3–5, lanceolate, 0.5–2 cm long. Inflorescence laxly 8–25-flowered; rhachis 2–11 cm long; bracts half as long as the ovary, green to somewhat straw-coloured. Flowers small, 1.5–2 mm long, yellow with green sepals, more or less resupinate; ovary 3–7 mm long. Sepals and petals not spreading. Petals more or less enclosed by the sepals, slightly shorter and broader than the sepals. Lip enclosed 1–1.5 mm long, 3-lobed; side lobes curved up either side of the column; spur straight or curved, subconical, 0.5–1.2 mm long. |
| Notes: | A small, inconspicuous terrestrial, confined to sandy, quartzite soils in the Chimanimani mountains. So far it has only been recorded from the Zimbabwe side of the mountains but it is likely to occur on the Mozambique side as well. |
| Derivation of specific name: | drummondii: named after R. B. 'Bob' Drummond (1924-2008 ) , former curator of the National Herbarium in Harare (SRGH), who collected the type specimen. |
| Habitat: | Sandy, quartzite soils |
| Altitude range: | Above 1500 m |
| Flowering time: | Sep |
| Worldwide distribution: | Chimanimani Mountains of Zimbabwe and Mozambique. |
| Mozambique distribution: | MS |
| Growth form(s): | Terrestrial. |
| Endemic status: | Near Endemic |
| Red data list status: | |
| Insects associated with this species: | |
| Spot characters: | Display spot characters for this species |
| Literature: |
Ball, J.S. (2009). Terrestrial African Orchids, A Selected Review. Pages 4 - 5. as Benthamia drummondii (Includes a picture). Chapano, C. & Mamuto, M. (2003). Plants of the Chimanimani District National Herbarium and Botanic Garden, Zimbabwe Page 41. As Oligophyton drummondii Darbyshire, I., Timberlake, J., Osborne, J., Rokni, S., Matimele, H., Langa. C., Datizua, C., de Sousa, C., Alves, T., Massingue, A., Hadj-Hammou, J., Dhanda, S., Shah, T., Wursten, B. (2019). The endemic plants of Mozambique: diversity and conservation status Phytotaxa 136 Page 78. Fibeck, W. & Dare, M. (1993). Terrestrial Orchids in Zimbabwe. Excelsa 16 Page 68. Golding, J.S. (ed.) (2002). Zimbabwe Plant Red Data List. Southern African Plant Red Data Lists. SABONET 14 Page 167. La Croix, I. & Cribb, P.J. (1995). Orchidaceae (Part 1) Flora Zambesiaca 11(1) Pages 57 - 58. (Includes a picture). Linder, H.P. & Williamson, G. (1986). Notes on the Orchids of Southern Tropical Africa, II. Oligophyton drummondii, gen. et sp. nov. Kew Bulletin 41(2) Pages 313 - 317. (Includes a picture). Mapaura, A. (2002). Endemic Plant Species of Zimbabwe. Kirkia 18(1) Page 129. Mapaura, A. & Timberlake, J. (eds) (2004). A checklist of Zimbabwean vascular plants Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 33 Sabonet, Pretoria and Harare Page 97. Wursten, B., Timberlake, J. & Darbyshire, I. (2017). The Chimanimani Mountains: an updated checklist. Kirkia 19(1) Page 84. |
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