Disperis anthoceros flower

An inflorescence of Disperis anthoceros comprises up to five flowers in a lax spike, each subtended by a pointed, leafy bract that spreads from the base of the ovary. Flower colour is white, sparsely (in parts) covered by scattered purple (or sometimes green) spots.

The median or dorsal sepal of the flower, joined to the pair of lateral petals, forms a conspicuously long and pointed, spur-like hood over the rest of the floral parts. This hood tapers slightly, angled upwards at the back of the flower. The plant is sometimes commonly referred to as the horn-like flower disperis.

Olive-green lines, nearly parallel and not very straight, adorn the inside surface of the dorsal sepal in the photo. Small purple markings occur in the central areas of the two spreading lateral sepals that are lobed and pointed.

These markings show in the photo where the characteristic spur-like pouches are positioned in the sepal surfaces. These pouches, a feature of Disperis flowers, have nothing to do with pollination, but had served during the budding phase to protect the rostellum arms protruding from the column. The generic name, Disperis, was derived from the Greek words dis meaning twice and pera meaning a pouch.

Flowering happens from midsummer through autumn (Lowrey and Wright, 1987; www.orchidspecies.com; www.zimbabweflora.co.zw).