Disa forficaria

Disa forficaria
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Orchidoideae
Genus: Disa
Species:
D. forficaria
Binomial name
Disa forficaria
Synonyms
  • Forficaria graminifolia Lindl.
  • Herschelia forficaria (Bolus) H.P.Linder
  • Herschelianthe forficaria (Bolus) N.C.Anthony

Disa forficaria is a perennial plant and geophyte belonging to the genus Disa and is part of the fynbos.[1] The plant is endemic to the Western Cape. The plant occurs at Cape Peninsula, Du Toitskloof, Hottentots Holland Mountains, Houwhoek and Groenland. There are only five plants at a herbarium, all collected before 1966.[2] In 2016, after decades of no confirmed sightings, a single plant was seen flowering at Fernkloof Nature Reserve.[3] From this one plant, a team of scientists were able to determine the pollination syndrome involved sexual mimicry to attract male longhorn beetles.[4]

References

  1. ^ http://redlist.sanbi.org/species.php?species=2759-38 Disa forficaria Bolus. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants.
  2. ^ http://plantsoftheworldonline.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:630117-1 Disa forficaria. Plants of the World Online.
  3. ^ https://www.news24.com/travel/pics-rare-orchid-discovered-in-fernkloof-nature-reserve-20160310 Louzel Lombard. PICS: Rare orchid discovered in Fernkloof Nature Reserve. March 10 2016. News24.
  4. ^ https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(21)00376-6 Callan Cohen et al. Sexual deception of a beetle pollinator through floral mimicry. May 10 2021. Current Biology 31. Cell Press.
  • Media related to Disa forficaria at Wikimedia Commons