Satyrium longicauda var. longicauda bright sepal tips

The slender Satyrium longicauda var. longicauda inflorescence stems vary in length from 17 cm to 80 cm. The flowers in picture are strongly bicoloured, the lower perianth segment tips are dark pinkish purple, the rest about white.

The coloured flower segments are the three sepals, all spreading. The lateral sepals have obliquely rounded tips, the odd or median sepal below is symmetrical and rounded, all three positioned behind the lip and petals.

The lateral petals form a tube with the sides of the lip in their lower parts, their tips reflexed, rounded and white, visible below the lip. The lip is slightly broader than tall. Notable bulges are present on the sides of the hood, allowing pollinator access to the spurs past the column, while above and below the column fits tightly in the hood, the lip.

Parts of the long white spurs and tapering, purple-streaked bracts point down, positioned closer to the stem than the perianths (Manning, 2009; Pooley, 1998; iNaturalist; www.africanorchids.dk).