Disa clavicornis

Disa clavicornis is a small and rare terrestrial orchid that reaches heights around 40 cm. It may not show itself above ground every year, depending on growing conditions.

The species is distributed in a small area in the east of Mpumalanga near the Long Tom Pass.

The habitat is moist grassland and wet vleis or grassy, east-facing slopes, steep and well-drained. Low temperatures often prevail at the high altitudes where the plants grow, between 1900 m and 2300 m. The habitat population is considered endangered early in the twenty first century, due to mining, forestry, invasive plant species and agriculture.

There is also a pink and white flowering species in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal with a similar sounding name: D. crassicornis (iNaturalist; iSpot; www.orchidspecies.com; http://redlist.sanbi.org).