Habenaria keayi Summerh. 1951 SECTION Diphyllae TYPE Drawing by © Summerhayes and The Kew Science Website

Part shade Cold LATESpring EARLY Summer

Common Name Keay's Habenaria [English Orchid Collector 1900's]

Flower Size 1.2" [3 cm]

Found in Togo, Benin, Nigeria Cameroon, Ethiopia, Yemen and Oman in grasslands as a mini-miniature to small sized, cold growing terrestrial with 2 basal, heart shaped leaves in youth, one as a mature plant that blooms in the late spring and early summer on an erect, terminal, 2 to 3.2" [5 to 8 cm] long, 8 to 17 flowered inflorescence with lanceolate, pubescent floral bracts and carrying green flowers with hairy tepals

Similar to H holothrix but H keayi has a longer spur.

Synonyms Pseudohemipilia keayi (Summerh.) Szlach. 2003

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Field Guide to Ethiopian Orchids Demissew, Cribb & Rasmussen 2004

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------