Habenaria lithophila

Habenaria lithophila is a slender perennial, a terrestrial orchid growing an annual flowering stem of 25 cm in height from ellipsoid, hairy tubers.

The pair of basal leaves are borne flat on the ground, on opposite sides of the stem, sheathing it. These leaves are ovate to rounded or kidney-shaped, becoming about 5 cm by 7 cm in size. In addition, small, lance-shaped stem leaves occur, from 5 to 30 of them grade into bracts among the flowers.

The species distribution is widespread, from the southern Cape near George, the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal through the provinces north of the Vaal River into tropical Africa as far as DRC, Malawi and Tanzania.

The habitat is variable grassland, including mountain slopes at elevations from 600 m to 2200 m. The specific name lithophila is derived from the Greek words lithos (a rock) and -philus (loving), referring to the plant’s adaptation to a stony habitat. The species is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century (Liltved and Johnson, 2012; Pooley, 1998; www.redlist.sanbi.org).