''Eulophia speciosa'' is a species of

terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth. Terrestrial may also refer to: * Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on or near the ground, as opposed to ...

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 ...

found from

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

and in

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

and

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

. The plants usually grow in grasslands in sandy soils or in clay.http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantefg/eulophspec.htm , retrieved 6 November 2010.

Description

The fleshy,

lanceolate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...

leaves arise from underground corms/pseudobulbs. The leafless flowering shoot is about 0.4-0.8 m (up to 1.2mPooley, E. (1998). ''A Field Guide to Wild Flowers; KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Region''. .) tall, with up to 30 comparatively large flowers in an unbranched

raceme A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...

. The flowers measure about 25–45 mm in diameter, and are yellow with red markings on the lip of the side lobes.

Conservation and 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 Vomiting (also known as emesis and throwing up) is the involuntary, forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the nose. Vomiting can be the result of ailments like food poisoning, gastroenteri ...

and as a protective charm against storms.

Gallery

Image:Eulopia_speciosa_flowers_04_11_2010_2.jpg, ''Eulopia speciosa'' from

Amanzimtoti Amanzimtoti is a coastal town just south of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The town is well known for its warm climate and numerous beaches, and is a popular tourist destination, particularly with surfers. The annual sardine run attracts m ...

, South Africa Image:Eulopia_speciosa_flower3_close_04_11_2010.JPG, Close-up of a flower Image:Eulopia_speciosa_pod_04_11_2010_2.JPG, 'Fruit' of ''Eulophia speciosa''

Synonyms

''Lissochilus speciosus'' R.Br. ex Lindl. is the

basionym In the scientific name of organisms, basionym or basyonym means the original name on which a new name is based; the author citation of the new name should include the authors of the basionym in parentheses. The term "basionym" is used in both botan ...

. Other synonyms include: *''Cymbidium giganteum'' (L.f.) Sw. *''Cyrtopera gigantea'' (L.f.) Lindl. *''Epidendrum giganteum'' (L.f.) Poir *''Eulophia austrooccidentalis'' Sölch *''Eulophia brevisepala'' (Rendle) Summerh. *''Eulophia caloptera'' (Rchb.f.) Summerh. *''Eulophia coutreziana'' Geerinck *''Eulophia dispersa'' N.E.Br. *''Eulophia granitica'' (Rchb.f.) Cufod. *''Eulophia homblei'' (De Wild.) Butzin *''Eulophia leucantha'' (Kraenzl.) Sölch *''Eulophia sapinii'' De Wild. *''Eulophia speciosa'' var. ''culveri'' Schltr. *''Eulophia volkensii'' (Rolfe) Butzin *''Eulophia wakefieldii'' (Rchb.f. & S.Moore) Summerh. *''Limodorum giganteum'' (L.f.) Thunb. *''Lissochilus brevisepalus'' Rendle *''Lissochilus calopterus'' Rchb.f. *''Lissochilus dispersus'' (N.E.Br.) Rolfe *''Lissochilus graniticus'' Rchb.f. *''Lissochilus hereroensis'' Kraenzl. *''Lissochilus homblei'' De Wild. *''Lissochilus leucanthus'' Kraenzl. *''Lissochilus rendlei'' Rolfe *''Lissochilus sapinii'' De Wild. *''Lissochilus speciosus'' var. ''culveri'' (Schltr.) Rolfe *''Lissochilus volkensii'' Rolfe *''Lissochilus wakefieldii'' Rchb.f. & S.Moore *''Satyrium giganteum'' L.f.

References

External links

* *

speciosa Speciosa (foaled 28 April 2003) is an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. In a racing career which lasted from June 2005 and October 2007 she ran seventeen times and won four races. As a two-year-old, she won two of her six race ...

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