Disa stachyoides flower close-up
Author: Ivan Lätti
Photographer: Judd Kirkel Welwitch
Orchids are famous for their remarkable flowers worldwide. Also the often small-flowered South African species present remarkable beauty. Details of colour and shape, sometimes enhanced by tricks of photography, merit scrutiny, especially when the flowering plant is encountered in nature.
Compare this photo of only the protruding floral bits of Disa stachyoides with the pictures of full inflorescences where more than 40 individual flowers appear in one spike. Only the two lateral sepals and the central white lip are visible here.