8. Species accounts

The main body of The Cape Orchids contains richly informative accounts of the 242 (excluding subspecies and currently unnamed taxa) epiphytic and mainly terrestrial orchid species, representing 24 genera occurring in the Cape Floristic Region. This includes previously unpublished information on the origins of their names, histories of their discovery and description, relationships to other species and natural history field notes. These field notes are extracted from the authors’ extensive records of each species habitat and response to fire, flowering period, pollination biology and natural hybridisation. Each species account is illustrated by a comprehensive visual herbarium of Cape orchid images and contains a concise bibliography of pertinent literature.

Brachycorythis (1 species)
Bartholina (2 species)
Holothrix (14 species)
Habenaria (6 species)
Bonatea (2 species)
Stenoglottis (1 species)
Pachites (2 species)
Satyrium (31 species)
Disa (105 species)
Brownleea (2 species)
Disperis (12 species)
Ceratandra (6 species)
Evotella (1 species)
Pterygodium (14 species)
Corycium (11 species)
Liparis (2 species)
Eulophia (14 species)
Acrolophia (7 species)
Calanthe (1 species)
Polystachya (2 species)
Angraecum (3 species)
Cyrtorchis (1 species)
Mystacidium (1 species)
Tridactyle (1 species)

An assortment of Cape Orchids


Acrolophia bolusii; inflorescence flower diameter c. 9 mm. Cape Peninsula (November 4, 1992).	Corycium bifidum; Southwestern Cape Floristic Region. Inflorescence—flower diameter 5-7 mm (November 5, 1995).	Corycium bifidum; Plants in situ (November 5, 1995).

Corycium microglossum; Southwestern Cape Floristic Region. Inflorescences—flower diameter 6-10 mm (November 4, 1994).	Evotella rubiginosa; Southwestern Cape Floristic Region (November 2, 1994).	Pterygodium volucris; inflorescence —flower diameter 6-10 mm. Southwestern Cape Floristic Region (September 4, 1998).

Ceratandra grandiflora; inflorescence—flower diameter c. 15 mm. Western Cape Floristic Region (October 20, 1993).	Ceratandra venosa; inflorescences —flower diameter c. 8 mm. Southwestern Cape Floristic Region (November 11, 1991).	Disperis cucullata; inflorescences—flower diameter 17-20 mm. Southwestern Cape Floristic Region (August 31, 1998).

Disperis paludosa; inflorescence—flower diameter c. 21 mm. Cape Peninsula (November 30, 1990).	Disperis capensis var. capensis; inflorescence—flower diameter 20-30 mm. Cape Peninsula (July 30, 1991).	Disperis capensis var. capensis; inflorescences (cream-yellow form) —flower diameter 30-57 mm. Southwestern Cape Floristic Region (September 4, 1998).

Disa virginalis; inflorescences—flower diameter 25-28 mm. Southwestern Cape Floristic Region (October 10, 1995).	Disa schizodiodes; Swartberg Mountains, western Cape Floristic Region (November 8, 1994).	Disa maculata; inflorescences—flower diameter c. 23 mm.Cape Peninsula (November 6, 1993).

Disa pillansii; inflorescences—flower diameter 15-22 mm. Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve, western Cape Floristic Region (December 15, 1991).	Disa rosea; inflorescence—flower diameter 13-14 mm. Cape Peninsula (November 6, 1999).	Disa bodkinii; inflorescence-flower diameter c. 26 mm. Cape Peninsula (October 23, 1991).

Disa procera; inflorescence—flower diameter c. 19 mm; horizontal length c. 21 mm. Southern Cape Floristic Region (October 15, 1994).	Disa uniflora; Cape Peninsula (January 24, 1996).	Disa richardiana; inflorescences—flower diameter 9-23 mm. Cape Peninsula (October 1, 1998)

Disa multifida; inflorescences—flower diameter c. 22 mm; Height c. 111 mm. Southwestern Cape Floristic Region (November 16, 1991).	Disa lugens var. lugens; inflorescences—flower diameter c. 18 mm; horizontal length c. 22 mm. Eastern Cape Floristic Region (January 19, 1993).	Disa lugens var. nigrescens; inflorescences—flower diameter c. 13 mm; dorsal sepal length c. 24 mm. Eastern Cape Floristic Region (January 19, 1993).

Disa barbata; inflorescences—flower diameter c. 29 mm. Southwestern Cape Floristic Region (November 1, 1992).	Disa aurata; inflorescences—flower diameter 13-22 mm. Langeberg, southwwestern Cape Floristic Region (December 20, 1996).	Disa tripetaloides; Stellenbosch Mountains, southwestern Cape Floristic Region (December 23, 1999).

Disa spathulata subsp. tripartita; Inflorescence—flower diameter c. 22 mm, vertical length c. 58 mm . Southwestern Cape Floristic Region (September 5, 1994).	Disa spathulata subsp. tripartita; Plants in situ (September 5, 1994).	Disa spathulata subsp. spathulata (the distinctive form of D. spathulata subsp. spathulata with smaller purple flowers formerly known as D. atropurpurea); southwestern Cape Floristic Region (August 28, 1992).

Disa schlechteriana; Inflorescence—flower diameter c. 40 mm, length c. 76 mm. Langeberg, southwestern Cape Floristic Region (December 21, 1992).	Disa hallackii; southwestern Cape Floristic Region (November 5, 1995).	Disa marlothii; inflorescence-flower diameter c. 33 mm. Hex River Mountains, southwestern Cape Floristic Region (January 21, 1997).

Disa cornuta; Cape Peninsula (October 17, 1990).	Disa subtenuicornis; Langeberg, southwestern Cape Floristic Region (November 24, 1992).	Disa telipogonis; Slanghoekberge, southwestern Cape Floristic Region (October 13, 1992).

Satyrium hallackii subsp. hallackii; southwestern Cape Floristic Region (January 12, 1994)	Holothrix grandiflora; Cape West Coast. Inflorescence—flower diameter c. 15 – 17 mm ( April 14, 1995 ).	Holothrix grandiflora; Plants in situ (December 7, 2005).

Bartholina burmanniana; flowers with broad lip divisions—diameter 24-50 mm. Cape Peninsula (October 20, 1998).	Pachites bodkinii; Inflorescence—flower diameter c. 21mm. Cape Peninsula (December 8, 1992).	Pachites bodkinii; Plants in situ (December 7, 2005).