Habenaria tysonii

Habenaria tysonii is a slender terrestrial ocrhid reaching heights in its annual flower stem of about 30 cm. It grows two fleshy, basal leaves positioned flat on the ground. They are rounded to kidney-shaped, becoming about 5 cm in diameter.

The species distribution lies in the east of South Africa from the Eastern Cape, through KwaZulu-Natal to Mpumalanga and across the northern border as far as Zambia. The habitat is grassy and rocky slopes. The species is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century.

H. tysonii resembles H. dregeana, but its flowers are larger (Pooley, 1998; www.africanorchids.dk; www.redlist.sanbi.org).