Habenaria laevigata

Habenaria laevigata, commonly known as the smooth Habenaria, is a terrestrial herb, a cormous perennial found in exposed, stony and well drained grassland. The wide distribution of the species ranges from the Eastern Cape to Limpopo along the eastern summer rainfall area of South Africa. The species is mostly found on mountain slopes between altitudes of 700 m and 2000 m. This plant was seen south of Underberg in KwaZulu-Natal, flowering in summer grass in January.

H. laevigata grows to 40 cm. The lance-shaped leaves that clasp the stem taper to acute tips. The leaves at the base are large, decreasing in size up the stem into the bracts among the flowers. The population of the species in habitat is stable early in the twenty first century (iSpot; www.pacificbulbsociety.org).