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Holothrix pilosa Rchb.F.

Species

Angiosperms > Asparagales > Orchidaceae > Holothrix

Characteristics

Plants erect, scape without bracts, densely pilose with long soft hairs at right angles, 160-550 mm high; leaves thick-tissued, usually withered at an-thesis, upper surface glabrous, rarely pilose, lower surface densely pilose with long soft hairs. Inflorescences subsecund. Flowers: Sepals glabrous, 2.5-5 x 1-2.5 mm, green, margins paler. Petals undivided, carnose at apices, narrowly linear; 5.5-10.1 x 0.5-1 mm, creamy white with a green central stripe. Lip divided into 3-7 short, broad, obtuse, carnose lobes, 5.5-9 x 4.5-9 mm, cream with green veins; spur broadly conical, straight or curved 1.5 x 5.5 mm. Anther thecae yellow.
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Terrestrial herb, geophyte or lithophyte with root tubers, robust, up to 0.55 m high. Scape densely hairy towards base. Leaves 2, flat on ground, up to 140 mm wide, glabrous above, hairy below, withering before flowering. Inflorescence a lax to dense, hairy raceme; flowers secund, many, sepals green, petals cream-coloured. Sepals subequal, connivent; dorsal sepal 3 mm long. Petals narrowly linear, 7-10 mm long. Lip up to 10 x 7 mm, shallowly 5-7-lobed; spur 2 mm long. Flowering time Nov.-Mar.
Slender, tuberous geophyte to 55 cm, scape densely hairy below. Leaves 2, basal, ovate, densely hairy on reverse. Flowers many in a dense raceme, sepals green, petals and lip white or cream-coloured, petals entire, linear, lip spurred and with 3-7 short, broad fleshy lobes.
Life form perennial
Growth form herb
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention -
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 0.36 - 0.55
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

Light -
Soil humidity 1-3
Soil texture 7-8
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) -

Usage

Uses -
Edible -
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Mode -
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Distribution

Holothrix pilosa world distribution map, present in South Africa

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:638926-1
WFO ID wfo-0000982909
COL ID 6LXHG
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Saccidium pilosum Holothrix pilosa
WorldFloraDB 2024