Habenaria laevigata

Habenaria laevigata, commonly known as the smooth Habenaria, echoing the meaning of the specific name derived from Latin, is a terrestrial herb, a cormous perennial reaching 40 cm in height. 

The lance-shaped leaves clasp the stem and taper to acutely pointed tips. The leaves at the base are large, decreasing in size up the stem into the bracts among the flowers.

The species distribution is widespread in the eastern parts of South Africa, from the east of the Eastern Cape through west of KwaZulu-Natal and the east of the Free State to Mpumalanga and Limpopo. This plant was seen south of Underberg in KwaZulu-Natal, flowering in summer grass in January.

The plants are found on stony, well drained grassland slopes between elevations of 700 m and 2000 m. The habitat population is deemed of least concern, stable early in the twenty first century (Pooley, 1998; iNaturalist; iSpot; www.pacificbulbsociety.org; http://redlist.sanbi.org).