Polystachya ottoniana Rchb.f.

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Polystachya ottoniana

Photo: Bart Wursten
In cultivation D. Breakwell, Nyanga

Polystachya ottoniana

Photo: Bart Wursten
In cultivation D. Breakwell, Nyanga

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Synonyms: Polystachya capensis Sond. ex Harv.
Polystachya glaberrima Schltr.
Polystachya pisobulbon Kraenzl.
Common names:
Frequency:
Status: Doubtful
Description:
Small epiphytic or lithophytic herb, the lightgreen pseudobulbs forming a chain. Flowers white with a more or less distinct pink stripe along the centre of the sepals and a broad yellow central line on the recurved lip.
Notes: This is essentially a South African species, which is known only from a single record from the Chinhoyi area in northern Zimbabwe. As the specimen flowered in cultivation in California, there is doubt about the correctness of the given locality. No other specimens of this species have been found in the Chinhoyi area or elsewhere in Zimbabwe, since then.
Derivation of specific name: ottoniana: after Friedrich Otton, Austrian botanist and director of Schonbrunn Gardens, Vienna in the mid-19th Century
Habitat:
Altitude range: (metres)
Flowering time:
Worldwide distribution: Southern Mozambique, Eswatini and Limpopo, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and Western Cape, South Africa
Zimbabwe distribution: N?
Growth form(s):
Endemic status:
Red data list status:
Insects associated with this species:
Spot characters: Display spot characters for this species
Literature:

Ball, J.S. (1978). Southern African Epiphytic Orchids. Conservation Press, Johannesburg. Pages 190 - 191. (Includes a picture).

Fabian, A. & Germishuizen, G. (1997). Wild Flowers of Northern South Africa. Fernwood Press, Vlaeburg. Pages 118 - 119. (Includes a picture).

Kimberley, M.J. (2003). A List of Epiphytic Orchids of Zimbabwe Excelsa 20 Page 50.

La Croix, I. & Cribb, P.J. (1998). Orchidaceae (Part 2) Flora Zambesiaca 11(2) Page 342.

Linder, H.P. & Kurzweil, H. (1999). Orchids of Southern Africa A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, the Netherlands ISBN 90-5410-445-7 Page 414. (Includes a picture).

McMurtry, D., Grobler, L., Grobler, J. & Burns, S. (2008). Field Guide to the ORCHIDS of Northern South Africa and Swaziland Umdaus Press, PO Box 11059 Hatfield 0028 South Africa Pages 406 - 407. (Includes a picture).

Mytnik-Ejsmont, J. (2011). A Monograph of the Subtribe Polystachyinae Schltr. (Orchidaceae) University of Gdansk, Poland, ISBN 978 83 7531 174 4 Pages 243 - 244. (Includes a picture).

Pooley, E. (1998). A Field Guide to the Wild Flowers of KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Region. Natal Flora Publications Trust. Durban. Pages 124 - 125. (Includes a picture).


Other sources of information about Polystachya ottoniana:

Our websites:

Flora of Mozambique: Polystachya ottoniana

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Polystachya ottoniana
African Plant Database: Polystachya ottoniana
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Polystachya ottoniana
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Polystachya ottoniana
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Polystachya ottoniana
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Polystachya ottoniana
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Polystachya ottoniana
JSTOR Plant Science: Polystachya ottoniana
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Polystachya ottoniana
Plants of the World Online: Polystachya ottoniana
Tropicos: Polystachya ottoniana
Wikipedia: Polystachya ottoniana


Copyright: Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Meg Coates Palgrave, 2002-24

Hyde, M.A., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. & Coates Palgrave, M. (2024). Flora of Zimbabwe: Species information: Polystachya ottoniana.
https://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/speciesdata/species.php?species_id=118400, retrieved 19 March 2024

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