Disa uncinata, a back view

Seen from behind here, the Disa uncinata flower clearly shows the short spur at the back of its dorsal sepal. The spur is constricted at its base, curved and bulging at its tip. It is green in colour, borne horizontally and becomes 2 mm to 4 mm long. Uncina means hook or barb in Latin, referring to the spur that is curved and swollen at its tip.

A bract sheathes the base of the ovary on the stem, the dorsal sepal covering the lateral petals as well as the column where the pollinia and stigma are found.

There is clearly no “eye-spot” marking on the side of the median sepal here, ruling out the possibility that this might be D. ocellata, although the specimens shown in this Album, photographed in Bainskloof, appear borderline between D. uncinata and D. ocellata (Liltved and Johnson, 2012; iSpot; Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2010).