eulophia speciosa

Eulophia speciosa

''Eulophia speciosa'' is a species of terrestrial orchid found from Ethiopia to South Africa and in Yemen and Saudi Arabia. The plants usually grow in grasslands in sandy soils or in clay.
Ground Orchid - Yellow Beauty from the Bush This image shows the interior petal markings of a Ground Orchid.  This plant flowers at the start of the rainy season and then completely disappears into the ground (it is a corn / tuber plant) during winter months.  The entire plant can grow to about a meter tall, with a single green stalk and multiple flowers blooming from it.  Eulophia speciosa,Geotagged,Namibia,Spring,beautiful,bloom,eulophia speciosa,flower,golden,orchid,rare,summer,yellow

Appearance

The fleshy, lanceolate leaves arise from underground corms/pseudobulbs. The leafless flowering shoot is about 0.4-0.8 m tall, with up to 30 comparatively large flowers in an unbranched raceme. The flowers measure about 25-45 mm in diameter, and are yellow with red markings on the lip of the side lobes.

Status

This species is common in most parts of its distribution range in southern Africa, however it does make a good garden plant and is vulnerable to collectors. In South Africa, all orchids are protected by law and the plants must not be removed from the wild without a permit; only nursery-grown plants can be cultivated legally. These plants are used in African tradition as an emetic and as a protective charm against storms.

Uses

This species is common in most parts of its distribution range in southern Africa, however it does make a good garden plant and is vulnerable to collectors. In South Africa, all orchids are protected by law and the plants must not be removed from the wild without a permit; only nursery-grown plants can be cultivated legally. These plants are used in African tradition as an emetic and as a protective charm against storms.

References:

Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.

Taxonomy
KingdomPlantae
DivisionAngiosperms
ClassMonocots
OrderAsparagales
FamilyOrchidaceae
GenusEulophia
SpeciesE. speciosa
Photographed in
Namibia