Eulophia speciosa

Eulophia speciosa is a sturdy and hardy plant, growing from underground pseudobulbs. The evergreen perennial, a terrestrial orchid, presents an annual, leafless flower stem to heights from 40 cm to 120 cm.

The smooth, green leaves are fully grown at bloomtime. The leaves grow from a shoot beside the flower stem, becoming 60 cm long and 2 cm wide. They are channelled, thick to succulent and stiff, curving outwards as they taper to acute tips.

The distribution of the species hugs the coast in the south, from the southern Cape, through the Eastern Cape to KwaZulu-Natal, but also inland in Mpumalanga and Limpopo. The plant is found in Swaziland, Botswana and Namibia, as well as further to the north in tropical Africa and beyond, as far as Sudan and southern Arabia. The species shows much variation across its large distribution.

The habitat is grassland, coastal scrub and open woodland, often in sandy soil. In habitat the population of this species is declining early in the twenty first century. It is used in traditional medicine and cultural practices (Liltved and Johnson, 2012; Pooley, 1988; Onderstall, 1984; www.redlist.sanbi.org).