Disa rhodantha

Disa rhodantha is a ground orchid, a perennial herb growing leaves and flowers annually from its tuberous rootstock. The slender plant reaches heights from 30 cm to 60 cm and also produces a sterile shoot next to the flowers, bearing leaves only; up to four of them.

These leaves are narrowly elliptic to linear, folding in along their midribs, sometimes having petioles. The smaller stem leaves overlap, sheathe the stem and grading into floral bracts, each one subtending a flower.

The species distribution ranges from the Eastern Cape along the eastern parts of the country to Zimbabwe, growing at elevations between 1500 m and 2000 m.

The plants habitat is montane grassland, moist to swampy, often along streambanks. The species is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century (Pooley, 1998; www.orchidspecies.com; www.redlist.sanbi.org).