Eulophia speciosa is a species of terrestrial

Terrestrial plant

A terrestrial plant is one that grows on land. Other types of plants are aquatic , epiphytic , lithophytes and aerial ....

 orchid found from Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

 to South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

 and in Yemen

Yemen

The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....

 and Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...

. The plants usually grow in grasslands in sandy soils or in clay.

Description

The fleshy, lanceolate leaves arise from underground corms/pseudobulbs. The leafless flowering shoot is about 0.4-0.8 m (up to 1.2m) tall, with up to 30 comparatively large flowers in an unbranched raceme

Raceme

A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...

. The flowers measure about 25-45 mm in diameter, and are yellow with red markings on the lip of the side lobes.

Conservation and uses

This species is common in most parts of its distribution range in southern Africa, however it does make a good garden plant and is vulnerable to collectors. In South Africa, all orchids are protected by law and the plants must not be removed from the wild without a permit; only nursery-grown plants can be cultivated legally. These plants are used in African tradition as an emetic and as a protective charm against storms.

Synonyms

Lissochilus speciosus R.Br. ex Lindl. is the basionym

Basionym

Basionym is a term used in botany, regulated by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature...

. Other synonyms include:

• Cymbidium giganteum (L.f.) Sw.
• Cyrtopera gigantea (L.f.) Lindl.
• Epidendrum giganteum (L.f.) Poir
• Eulophia austrooccidentalis Sölch
• Eulophia brevisepala (Rendle) Summerh.
• Eulophia caloptera (Rchb.f.) Summerh.
• Eulophia coutreziana Geerinck
• Eulophia dispersa N.E.Br.
• Eulophia granitica (Rchb.f.) Cufod.
• Eulophia homblei (De Wild.) Butzin
• Eulophia leucantha (Kraenzl.) Sölch
• Eulophia sapinii De Wild.
• Eulophia speciosa var. culveri Schltr.
• Eulophia volkensii (Rolfe) Butzin
• Eulophia wakefieldii (Rchb.f. & S.Moore) Summerh.
• Limodorum giganteum (L.f.) Thunb.
• Lissochilus brevisepalus Rendle
• Lissochilus calopterus Rchb.f.
• Lissochilus dispersus (N.E.Br.) Rolfe
• Lissochilus graniticus Rchb.f.
• Lissochilus hereroensis Kraenzl.
• Lissochilus homblei De Wild.
• Lissochilus leucanthus Kraenzl.
• Lissochilus rendlei Rolfe
• Lissochilus sapinii De Wild.
• Lissochilus speciosus var. culveri (Schltr.) Rolfe
• Lissochilus volkensii Rolfe
• Lissochilus wakefieldii Rchb.f. & S.Moore
• Satyrium giganteum L.f.