Eulophia ovalis var. bainesii

Eulophia ovalis var. bainesii, the oval eulophia, grows above-ground leaves and flowers annually from a rhizome that is jointed or constricted at intervals, resembling a string of bead-like swellings. The robust plant produces flowers in a loose spike up to 65 cm tall.

The species distribution is in the east of South Africa, from the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and possibly the Eastern Cape to Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Limpopo. In Africa beyond our borders it is found in Lesotho, Swaziland, Zimbabwe and further into tropical Africa at least to Kenya.

The habitat is open, rocky grassland. The habitat population of the variety is deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century (Manning, 2009; Pooley, 1998; iNaturalist; www.orchidspecies.com; http://redlist.sanbi.org).