Pterygodium cooperi

Pterygodium cooperi is a slender terrestrial orchid, a perennial herb that grows its above-ground parts annually to heights around 30 cm from a perennial root tuber.

The species distribution is mainly in the southern Drakensberg, in the southeast of KwaZulu-Natal, spilling over into Eastern Cape, Free State and Lesotho.

The plant’s habitat is forest margins and montane grassland at elevations from 1500 m to 2800 m. The species is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century (Pooley, 1998; www.eurekalert.org; www.africanorchids.dk; www.redlist.sanbi.org).