Brownleea graminicola flowers

The dominant features of the pink-purple to lilac flowers of Brownleea graminicola are:

~ the erect, acutely pointed hood at the top comprising the dorsal sepal combined with the two lateral petals grown together with and flanking it,

~ the long, thin spur emerging from the back of this sepal,

~ the two spreading, obliquely shaped lateral sepals below that attenuate to acutely pointed tips and

~ the reddish green, twisted ovary at the back that merges with the pedicel.

The lip of the corolla is tiny in the eight Brownleea species of southern Africa, positioned in front of the column inside the hood in the flower centre. The reproductive parts of the orchid are clustered in the column of the flower (iSpot; www.sntc.org.sz).