Satyrium longicauda var. jacottetianum

Satyrium longicauda var. jacottetianum is a terrestrial orchid growing a slender stem from 26 cm to 42 cm tall.

The sepals of the flowers in picture are obovate to nearly oblong in the laterals, the widest parts near their tips. The pink colouring is gradually lost down the spike, older flowers becoming whiter before they wither.

The distribution of the species along the east of South Africa ranges from the Eastern Cape across inland KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho and the eastern Free State to Mpumalanga, Swaziland and Limpopo. The plants also grow in several tropical African countries.

The species S. longicauda habitat is rocky areas in grassland and marshes from the coast to elevations around 3000 m. The habitat population of the species overall is deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century, that of the variety unknown (Pooley, 1998; iNaturalist; www.africanorchids.dk; http://redlist.sanbi.org).