Disa uniflora

Few orchids have the impact of Disa uniflora. This wonderful terrestrial is endemic to the cape province of South Africa and I have seen it growing on Table Mountain above Cape Town growing on a damp mossy slope near the summit.

Disa uniflora's natural habitat in South Africa's Mediterranean makes the species really cool growing and while it currently lives in our Hinalayan greenhouse (min 7C) we are in the process of building an unheated section (min 1C here on Portland where we are largely frost free) to house Disa uniflora seedlings as they come out of our propagation lab.

The mossy habitat I saw Disa uniflora growing in on Table Mountain is a wet and very low nutrient environment on ancient volcanic rocks. In cultivation we replicate these conditions by giving plants RO (reverse osmosis) water with very few salts and very weak supplementary food. Plants stand in shallow trays of water that are cleaned out regularly.

Satisfying the particular requirements of this species is well worth the effort when the large iridescent flowers open in the summer months. The remarkable colour of the flowers has evolved to attract its sole pollinator - the Mountain Pride Butterfly (Aeropetes tulbaghia).