Inflorescence is up to 10-20" (25-51 cm) long with 10-100 yellow and brown flowers. Flowers are extremely variable, but usually have a yellow or green background marked with maroon-brown spots. Flowers are 1-2.5" (2.5-6.3 cm) across.
Fragrance:
Faint
Plant Size:
25-35" x 12-25" (64-89 x 30-64 cm), excluding inflorescence
Range:
Tropical to South Africa
Habitat:
Along dry, warm coasts, rivers; 0-7200ft (0-2200m)
Description:
This orchid has a huge range, covering nearly all of tropical Africa, from Nigeria to Kenya, and down to South Africa. It is also an extremely variable orchid, with most of the difference between plants being in their flower size, color, and density of spots. The spots on this orchid can be as small as pin pricks or as large as ink splotches, cover the entire flower so that it looks nearly brown, or be absent, leaving a pale yellow to green flower.
Despite the Leopard Orchid’s wide range, it is listed as Vulnerable and in need of protection. Both legal and illegal over-collecting threaten this plant and its habitat, with entire trees sometimes being cut down just for the plants growing on it. Logging and clearing forests for farmland and collecting older, larger orchids also threatens this species.
Bloom Time (Northern Hemisphere):
November to August; peak in March to May
Ethnobotanical Uses:
Zulu lore tells that wearing the pseudobulb of this orchid will prevent an ex-lover who rejected you from having children. In South Africa, this plant is also used as a charm to ward off lightning.
Medicinal / Pharmaceutical:
Zulu herbalists in South Africa use the pseudobulb of this plant to make a tea used as an emetic. In northern Zimbabwe and Zambia the leaves and stems are made into a broth used to cure madness. The Pedi of Zimbabwe make an infusion out of this plant to suppress coughing for children. This plant is also used as a charm to fend off bad dreams in South Africa, and to treat asthma in Mozambique.
