Eulophia kyimbilae Schltr.

kyimbilae: of Kyimbila, a place in Tanzania, where the type specimen was found

Terrestrial herb, 35-85 cm tall. Pseudobulbs underground, conical-ovoid, up to 3.5 × 2.5 cm, forming chains. Leaves 3-5 in a tuft or fan, linear-lanceolate, up to 20-55 cm long, ribbed, well-developed at time of flowering. Inflorescence unbranched, laxly up to 12-flowered. Flowers standing out horizontally but drooping after swelling of the ovary. Sepals green with purple-brown veining; dorsal sepal erect; lateral sepals spreading. Petals similar in colour to sepals, pointing forward, forming a hood over the column. Lip 9-15 mm long, 3-lobed in the apical third, often purple or greenish to dull yellow; side lobes erect; mid-lobe with 3 fleshy ridges in the basal half and several rows of papillae. Spur 1.5-3 mm long, cylindric, pointing downward.

Very occasional

Botswana, DRC, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe