''Eulophia guineensis'' is a species of

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

. It is the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

of the genus ''

Eulophia ''Eulophia'', commonly known as corduroy orchids, is a genus of about two hundred species of flowering plants in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Most ''Eulophia'' orchids are terrestrial but some are deciduous while others are evergreen. They ei ...

'' and is commonly known as the Guinea Eulophia or the broad-Leaved ground orchid. It is found in the

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

Islands, much of tropical Africa and part of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a terrestrial orchid that can grow to a metre or so tall, and is found in lowland and upland woods and scrubland.

Description

''Eulophia guineensis'' is a medium to large, terrestrial orchid. The clustered ovoid, pseudobulbs have two or three nodes and are usually underground, but sometimes on the surface. From each springs two to four elliptic to broadly lanceolate leaves, plicate, with sunken veins and thin-textured leaves. The inflorescence is up to tall, with up to 45 lax or densely packed flowers of various sizes. They are showy, with a pinkish-purple lip, whitish base and spur and purplish-brown sepals and petals. The floral bracts are up to long and ovate-lanceolate, and the pedicel and ovary are slender and up to long. The flowers are fragrant and waxy and appear in the autumn and early winter.

Distribution and habitat

''Eulophia guineensis'' is native to the Cape Verde Islands, Benin, Burkino Faso, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, Burundi, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, Rwanda, Zaire, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Angola, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Its typical habitat is woodland or scrub, at altitudes ranging from , in shade or semi-shade on poor rocky soils.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3283742 guineensis Flora of Cape Verde Flora of the Gambia