FZ.22. Disperis Sw.

Description of the genus

Erect, terrestrial herbs arising from small tubers and growing in very shallow soil or leaf mould in forest. Leaves 1-few, alternate or opposite. Flowers solitary or in racemes, Bracts leaf-like. Dorsal sepal united with the petals to form a hood-like structure varying from a ± flat limb to an elongate spur; lateral sepals each usually with a conspicuous spur or pouch near the inner margin. Petals variously shaped, often falcate. Lip greatly modified and characteristic of the species, joined to the column and bearing a distinctive appendage.

Worldwide: 75 species in tropical and South Africa, Mascarenes and Indomalesia

Rwanda: 9 taxa.

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Links to taxa:     View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this genus

SpeciesContent
anthoceros Rchb. f.Description, Image
dicerochila Summerh.Description, Image
kilimanjarica Rendle
nemorosa Rendle
reichenbachiana Rchb. f.Description, Image
reklieberae Eb.Fisch., Killmann, Delep. & J.-P.Lebel [NrEnd]Image
sp. nov. aff. bifida Eb. Fish. et Al in Orchids of Rwanda, 2010: 198
sp. nov. aff. macowanii Eb. Fish. et Al in Orchids of Rwanda, 2010: 196
thomensis Summerh. Description, Image

Other sources of information about Disperis:

Our websites:

Flora of Burundi: Disperis
Flora of the DRC: Disperis
Flora of Malawi: Disperis
Flora of Mozambique: Disperis
Flora of Zambia: Disperis
Flora of Zimbabwe: Disperis

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Disperis
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Disperis
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Disperis
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Disperis
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Disperis
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Disperis
JSTOR Plant Science: Disperis
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Disperis
Plants of the World Online: Disperis
Tropicos: Disperis
Wikipedia: Disperis

Copyright: The Rwanda flora team, 2024-25

The Rwanda flora team (2025). Flora of Rwanda: Genus page: Disperis.
https://www.rwandaflora.com/speciesdata/genus.php?genus_id=422, retrieved 5 December 2025

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