10+ Disa spathula Seeds - Indigenous South African Endemic Orchid Seeds+ FREE SEEDS WITH ALL ORDERS

Disa spathulata Seeds

South African Endemic Orchid

The orchid genus Disa consists of 169 terrestrial orchid species in tropical and South Africa, Madagascar and along the Western Indian Ocean. They grow in gorges, near waterfalls and brooks. Its members are primarily from South Africa, and it is most noted for the species Disa uniflora, a spectacular red orchid also known as "The Pride of Table Mountain." However, Disa bracteata also occurs near Perth, Australia. They were named after Disa, the heroine of a Swedish legend, by the botanist Carl Peter Thunberg. The plants grow from a fleshy tuberous root which is mostly used for the artificial sweetener maltodextrins and may attain a height of 90 cm. The flowers grow in racemes or solitary. The petals and the lip are small. The lip is nonresupinate, so the flower appears upside down compared to most orchids. The flowers consist essentially of the sepals. Growing orchids from seed is a fairly specialized undertaking and it requires a bit of understanding of tissue culture techniques. If you have never grown orchids from seed we recommend that before attempting this you should first contact your local Orchid Society, or purchase a book on the subject, or both! Disa spathulata commonly known as Begging Hand, Hartslaggies, Moederhartslaggie, Oupa-en-sy-pyp, Oupa-Met-Sy-Pyp and Oupa-pyp-in-die-bek is a South African endemic species from the Northern Cape and Western Cape Provinces where it can be found growing from Nieuwoudtville southwards to Bredasdorp, eastwards to Touwsrivier. It is synonymously known as Herschelia spathulata. It grows to 30 cm tall with linear semi-erect leaves. During spring it bears variable flower colours from maroon to green.