Habenaria letouzeyana (Szlach. & Olsz.) P.J. Cribb & Stévart

Daniel, Thomas F., 2020, Notes on the Vascular Flora of the Island of Príncipe (São Tomé and Príncipe) in the Gulf of Guinea, Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 66 (15), pp. 341-352 : 348

Habenaria letouzeyana (Szlach. & Olsz.) P.J. Cribb & Stévart

This relatively large (to about 7 dm tall) terrestrial orchid is endemic to Príncipe. When it was described by Szlachetko and Olszewski (1998) as Podandriella letouzeyana , it was known from a single collection (Rose 412 at P, the holotype), and the habitat of the species was unknown. When they transferred the species to Habenaria Willd., Stévart and Cribb (2004) cited several collections, which included habitat information. A population of ca. 50 plants of the species was observed on three occasions over several years (2008, 2010, 2013) near the northern base of Pico Papagaio on relatively flat to slightly sloping and somewhat disturbed ground in tropical evergreen moist to wet forest at an elevation of ca. 300 meters. The species was in flower during March and April. Owing to its rarity and listing by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora ( CITES 2019), no collections were made. Black-and-white drawings of various parts of the plant accompanied the protologue, and a colored illustration of the species (as Habenaria procera (Sw.) Lindl. var. procera ) appeared in Stévart and Oliveira (2000:52, figs. 19, 20). However, apparently no photographs of living plants of H. letouzeyana have been published or made available online. Several views of this beautiful orchid are herewith provided ( Fig. 4 ).

Figures

FIGURE 4. Habenaria letouzeyana. Habit (top left). Portion of inflorescence with flowers (top right). Flower, front-view (bottom left). Flower, lateral view (bottom right, photo by W. Eckerman). Photos by the author in 2013 except as noted.All photos from northern base of Pico Papagaio except photo at bottom left from trail below Morro de Leste.