Habenaria nyikana subsp. nyikana

Habenaria nyikana subsp. nyikana is a herb of the grassland in the northeast of South Africa, particularly the provinces of Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Gauteng and probably North West. It also grows in Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and further afield in tropical Africa.

The habitat of the species is open grassland, marshy spots and woodland. This specimen was photographed at the beginning of March in Gauteng. It is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century.

The species was named after Nyika Island that lies in the Zambezi delta in Mozambique, where the plant may have been first collected (www.zimbabweflora.co.zw; www.redlist.sanbi.org).