Disa aconitoides subsp. aconitoides part of inflorescence

An inflorescence of Disa aconitoides subsp. aconitoides may have as many as 70 flowers in its cylindrical spike. Flower colour varies among a few shades of pale to pinkish mauve and white. The dark spots on the hood and spur in the photo are often seen, not always.

The spur is up to 1 cm long, usually with a rounded tip. Its shape may vary on different plants: pointed, almost cylindrical or constricted some distance up its length to a narrow apical part. The flowers in picture have tall, thick spurs, pointing back at the flower stalk, at angles of similar size to those of the ovaries pointing outwards. The flowers themselves face downwards at angles around 45˚ .

The Afrikaans common name of oumakappie (granny bonnet) may be descriptive, although grannies wearing such bonnets are rarely seen today. The specific name, aconitoides, plays upon a similar resemblance, aconitum meaning monk’s hood in Latin. There is another plant genus called Aconitum that received its name earlier, so the resemblance story is a short daisy or disa chain.

The flowers are unscented (Liltved and Johnson, 2012; Pooley, 1998; iNaturalist; iSpot).