Disa is a genus in the family Orchidaceae and is mostly found in southern and eastern Africa. Species are deciduous or evergreen terrestrial plants with both tuberous and stoloniferous root systems. They are found from sea level to about 7000 feet. Species o-r are found on this page.
Disa species a-ce - Disa species ch-f - Disa species g-n - Disa species s-z - Disa index
Disa obtusa Lindl. is found in damp, sandy areas from sea level to 1000 m in the Southwestern and Southern Cape. Growing to 40 cm, it has cauline, linear leaves and white to brown or purple, often spotted flowers on an erect slender, many flowered inflorescence. It flowers from September to October, after fires. There are three accepted subspecies. The first five photos from iNaturalist below are shared under a CC BY-NC license. The first two photos are of Disa obtusa ssp. hottentotica H.P.Linder and were taken by Ismail Ebrahim in the Steenbras Nature Reserve in October. The third photo is of Disa obtusa ssp. obtusa and was taken by Luc Pegram in Silvermine in October. The fourth and fifth photos are of Disa obtusa ssp. picta (Sond.) H.P.Linder and were taken by linkie at the Nuweberg Forest Station in November. The last photo from Jan and Anne Lise Schutte-Vlok was taken in the Little Karoo.
Disa ocellata Bolus is found in wet peaty soils from the Cape Peninsula to the Swartberg Mountains. Growing up to 30 cm and flowering in summer the first year after a fire, this species has flowers that are white with brown purple markings and a small rounded spur. The photo is from the book Plants of the Klein Karoo courtesy of Jan and Anne Lise Schutte-Vlok.
Disa oreophila Bolus is found in the Drakensberg Mountains and grows from 10 to 35 cm and has white or pink flowers that are lightly or heavily spotted purple. Photos from Cameron McMaster, Mary Sue Ittner, and Bob Rutemoeller were taken at Naude's Nek January 2010.
Disa oreophila ssp. erecta H.P.Linder is found on shallow soil over rocks and on damp grassy slopes and is a Drakensberg endemic. It has large flowers.
Disa oreophila ssp. oreophila hangs or curves out from damp crevices and grassy slopes and has much smaller flowers. Photos of this subspecies were taken by Cameron McMaster and Bob Rutemoeller January 2010, Maclear.
Disa ovalifolia Sond. is found on sandstone slopes from the Cedarberg to the cold Bokkeveld Mountains. Growing to 20 cm, it has a few flowers in a close raceme. The sepals are green and the lip brown. It flowers in spring (September to October). The first three photos from iNaturalist were taken by Felix Riegel in the Western Cape in September and shared under a CC BY-NC license. The last photo taken in the Little Karoo is courtesy of Jan and Anne Lise Schutte-Vlok.
Disa patula Sond. is found on montane grassland from the Eastern Cape to Zimbabwe. It has pale to bright pink flowers with purplish spots and a round pointed spur. The first photo was taken on Mt. Kubusie in the Amatola Mountains, Eastern Cape. The last three photos were taken in Maclear February 2008. Photos by Cameron McMaster.
Disa polygonoides Lindl. is found on moist or marshy grassland from Humansdorp to the Northern Province. It grows to 70 cm and has reddish orange flowers in a dense spike. Photos were taken by Bob Rutemoeller and Mary Sue Ittner January 2010 near Morgan Bay in the Eastern Cape.
Disa porrecta Sw. is found in grassland up to 2000 m in the Eastern Cape and Lesotho. It grows from 20 to 60 cm and has down facing bright red flowers with yellow petals and lip. The spur is large and points up. This species flowers in summer. Photos 1-5 taken January 2010 at Balloch by Bob Rutemoeller and Mary Sue Ittner. The last photo from Cameron McMaster was taken at Andriesberg.
Disa pulchra Sond. is a deciduous species from the Eastern Cape, Transkei and KwaZulu-Natal found on stony grassland. It is summer growing with bright pink flowers. Rogan Roth wrote in a pbs list post from October 2005 that "in the wild Disa pulchra flowers at the same time and occupies the same habitats as Watsonia densiflora and indeed looks very similar when in flower. The story goes that pollinators attracted to the watsonia flowers mistakenly pollinate the disas as well, but receive no pollen or nectar rewards in return." Photos from Cameron McMaster taken in the Amatola Mountains of the Eastern Cape including a close-up showing the detail of a flower.
Disa purpurascens Bolus is a winter-growing, summer-dormant species that grows on acidic sandstone mountain slopes. It blooms in late spring/early summer, after its leaves have withered for the season. Photographed in Phillipskop Mountain Reserve by Christopher Whitehouse.
Disa racemosa L.f. is a winter rainfall species that grows to 1 m. It is found in marshes, flats and hills from the Western Cape to the southeastern Cape (Bokkeveld and Cape Peninsula to Grahamstown). It has lanceolate leaves and 2 to 8 bright rose-pink flowers with darker veins in a lax raceme. It blooms late spring to summer, usually after fire. The first photo was taken by Rod Saunders. The next photos from the book Plants of the Klein Karoo are courtesy of Jan and Anne Lise Schutte-Vlok.
Disa species a-ce - Disa species ch-f - Disa species g-n - Disa species s-z