It's been a while since I have posted here, but I had a bit of time to take photos of my Polystachya longiscapa . I purchased this plant from Afri Orchids in Summer 2019, and this is the second bloom under my care. The type specimen was collected from the slopes of Lupanga Peak (Lukwangule Platerau), the southern part of the Uluguru Mountains , in Tanzania. The species are found in both northern and western slopes of the Uluguru Mountains at altitude 700-1680m as a lithophyte (Mytnik-Eismont et al. 2011). In nature, this species is found in only this area, so it is a narrow endemic species. Interesting, the Uluguru mountains appear to contain many plant species endemic to the area (Temu et al. 2008). When I saw the flowers, I thought they look quite different from the typical flowers of Polystachya . Indeed, the placement of this rather taxonomically unique species has been difficult. Some authors separated the early branching Polystachya ...
Plants, Orchids, and Life in North