Disa clavicornis

Disa clavicornis is a small and rare terrestrial orchid that may not show itself above ground every year, depending on growing conditions.

The species is distributed in a restricted area of moist eastern Mpumalanga montane grassland near the Long Tom Pass. This habitat is wet vleis or grassy eastern slopes, steep and well-drained. Low temperatures often prevail at the high altitudes where the plants grow (between 1900 m and 2300 m).

The species is considered endangered in its habitat early in the twenty first century, due to mining, forestry, invasive plant species and agriculture.

There is also a pink and white flowering species in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal with a similar sounding name: D. crassicornis (iSpot; www.orchidspecies.com; www.redlist.sanbi.org).