Zambia’s Early Spring Terrestrial Orchids

Following the long dry season and before the rains begin, there are a range of plants that put out their flowers despite the dry dusty conditions. Many people are only familiar with the colourful and splashy Fireball Lily (Boophone disticha or Scadoxus multiflorus), Swamp Lilies (Crinum spp.), Foxglove Orchid (Eulophia cucullata) or our Wild Gingers (Siphonochilus spp.). However, the start of the hot dry season around September coincides with the start of flowering activities for many different species, particularly those species that are adapted to fire.

Though we may notice the large and colourful species more regularly, there are a plethora of early flowering species with smaller or dull coloured flowers. When most people think of orchids, they think of colourful and exaggerated flowers, most often hanging from trees; however, there is a range of very early flowering terrestrial orchids in Zambia that are very often overlooked.

Nervila Livingstonia Photo: Nicholas Wightman

The genus Nervilia is a group of small tuberous orchids that produce their flowers separately from their solitary leaf, which appears after flowering has finished. There are two sub-groups within Nervilia, one group that produces only one flower per stalk and the other group that produces a few flowers per flower stalk. However, both groups tend to send up their flower stalks just before or with the starting of the rains, growing mostly in miombo woodland habitats. The small flowers can be brightly or drably coloured and generally only last about one day (some of the multi-flowered species may have flowers that last several days) before they wilt.

N. adolphi var. adolphi, N. simplex, N. kotschyi var. kotschyi Photos: Nicholas Wightman

Species such as N. adolphi var. adolphi and N. stolziana produce a single pink coloured flower while N. simplex has a pure white flower with a frilly edged lip. By contrast, most of the multi-flowered species have drab, earthtone coloured flowers that often blend into the background in shades of yellow green, such as the flowers of N. kotschyi var. kotschyi, or maroon purple, such as the flowers of N. shirense. Once flowering has finished, a single leaf is produced by each plant that can eventually develop in medium sized colonies on the woodland floor. Overall, Nervilia species are generally easy to grow provided they don’t have many taller neighbouring plants competing with them for light and that they are given a proper dormant period during the dry season; though they won’t generally give large flower displays each year, they are a lovely little addition to an indigenous miombo woodland garden.

E. cucullata Photo: Nicholas Wightman

The genus Eulophia is a large group of small to large terrestrial orchids that produce their flowers at different times during the broader growing season. There are some highly ornamental species such as E. cucullata, E. livingstoneana, E. horsfallsii or E. latilabris that are easily recognised from a distance due to their large brightly coloured floral display. However, there are a number of small flowered, very early blooming species within the miombo woodlands that are very often overlooked, much like with the species of Nervilia. These obscure Eulophia species usually flower before the rains start and bear small, earth tone flowers in shades of maroon, yellow, brown, purple and white. Despite their small size, the flowers are just as intricate and beautiful as the larger and more showy species.

E. rolfeana E. acutilabra, E. mumbwaensis Photos: Nicholas Wightman

The dainty flowers of E. acutilabra, E. mumbwaensis, E. rolfeana and E. venulosa are not always easily spotted against the woodland floor and are rarely numerous enough to form colonies within woodlands. Some Eulophia species can be grown if their habitat conditions are replicated within the garden; certain species like E. cucullata and E. gonychila can be successfully grown in an indigenous woodland garden. Unfortunately, most Eulophia species are not easily grown and must be admired in the remaining patches of their miombo woodland and/or dambo grasslands habitats.

E. venulosa Photo: Nicholas Wightman

Ultimately, I’ve only just touched on the breadth and diversity of the orchid species of Zambia, of which there are about 415 different taxa. Woodland degradation from agricultural expansion and charcoal production are reducing habitats that orchids and many other plant species depend on. We all can do our part in helping to protect and fight for the woodland and grassland habitats that so many organisms depend on.