Stolzia repens (Rolfe) Summerh. 1953

Photo by © Bob Campbell

Plant and Flowers

Photo by Bart Wursten ©, and his Flora Of Zimbabwe WebSite

Common Name The Low Lying Stolzia

Flower Size 3/8" [1.1 cm]

Found in Ghana, Burundi, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Zaire, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe in highland forests on mossy branches and rocks at elevations of 1900 to 2830 meters as a small sized, mat-forming, warm to cold growing epiphyte or occasional lithophyte with elongated, prostrate, swollen apically pseudobulbs each arising from near the apex of the previous pseudobulb and carrying 2 to 3 apical, elliptic, obovate or rounded leaves that blooms in the fall on a terminal, short, single flowered inflorescence.

The type has yellow flowers with red brown stripes and a lanceolate, acute dorsal sepal, the variety obtusa has red brown flowers with 2 yellow stripes at the base of the obtuse, forward facing dorsal sepal and at the base of the petals.

Synonyms *Polystachya repens Rolfe 1912; Porpax repens (Rolfe) Schuit., Y.P.Ng & H.A.Pedersen 2018; Porpax repens var. cleistogama (Stévart, Droissart & M.Simo) Schuit., Y.P.Ng & H.A.Pedersen 2018; Porpax repens var. obtusa (G.Will.) Schuit., Y.P.Ng & H.A.Pedersen 2018; Stolzia repens var. cleistogama Stévart, Droissart & M.Simo 2009; Stolzia repens var. obtusa G.Will.1980

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Orchids of East Africa Piers 1968 photos good; The Epiphytic Orchids of Malawi Morris 1970; The Orchids of South Central Africa Williamson 1977 drawing/photo ok; Malawi Orchids vol 1 La Croix 1983 drawing fide; Flora of Tropical East Africa Orchidaceae Part 2 Cribb 1984; Rudolf Schlechter Die Orchideen Band 1B lieferung 24 1457 - 1520 Brieger 1991 drawing fide/photo ok; The Manual Of Cultivated Orchid Species Bechtel, Cribb & Launert 1992 drawing/photo fide; Flora Zambesiaca Vol 11 Part 1 Pope 1995 photo fide; Flora Zambesiaca Vol 11 Orchidaceae Part 1 Pope 1995 as S repens var obtusa; The Orchids of Kenya Stewart & Campbell 1996 photo fide; African Orchids in the Wild and Cultivation La Croix 1997 drawing fide; Field Guide to the Ethiopian Orchids Demissew, Cribb & Rasmussen 2004

Stolzia repens var. obtusa G.Will. 1980

Plant and Flowers in situ Zimbabwe

Photos by Bart Wursten ©, and his Flora Of Zimbabwe WebSite

Differs from Stolzia repens var. repens in the more rounded shape of the petals and sepals, and dark red-brown flowers with lighter stripes on the petals and sepals. It often has slightly larger and less succulent leaves, possibly due to its moister and more sheltered habitat in montane evergreen forest.

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